Don't Leave
by LoveOneLoveAll
Summary: Everyone knows how much Maka loves Soul... except for Soul... But when Maka suffers an accident, will Soul find his true feelings for his meister... but what will he do with a jealous Blair if he does? What does the Star Clan have to do with this? M for suggested lemons... SoMa! May be OOC.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Soul Eater is not mine!**_

_**A/N: I'm gonna start listing the songs I was listening to so that you guys have a better understanding at the things that inspire me to write stories X) You could skip this if you want, but it'd be a good idea to listen to the music while reading this X) Think of it as a way into my weird mind. XD Songs might be old though, but it's still good XD.**_

_**#1: Watcha say- Jason Derulo**_

_**#2: Heartless- Kanye West**_

_**#3: Knock you down- Keri Hillson ft. Kanye West & NeYo**_

_**#4: Gold Digger- Kanye West ft. Jamie Fox**_

_**#5: Stronger- Kanye West**_

_**(These songs are what inspired this story… to think that kids listen to this stuff! My gosh! Then people wonder why people grow up too early!)**_

Soul smiled as Blair pranced out of his room again, a content smile on his face. "What a good morning." He said with a sigh as he stretched out on his bed. "Just another day in my life I guess." Soul muttered sitting up and dressing himself.

Maka sat at the kitchen table, when Blair walked in, a huge smile on her face.

"Blair?" Maka asked, trying to ignore the pain in her heart.

"Yes Maka?" she asked stretching.

"Could you… um… I don't know how to say this… Could you keep it down when you and Soul are…" Maka couldn't finish the sentence so Blair smirked.

"I can't control his groans Maka." Blair said chuckling.

"Could you at least warn me next time, so that I won't have to hear you guys?" Maka asked her.

Blair just shrugged keeping her back to Maka as she served herself something to eat.

Soul walked into the kitchen, ready to go. "Let's go Maka, before I regret getting out of bed." Soul muttered.

Maka shook her head and managed to slap on a fake smile. "I'll see you at school Soul, I want to walk today." Maka mumbled as she stood up to grab her text book and walked out of the apartment, lightly closing the door behind her as she walked out of the apartment building.

"What's wrong with her?" Soul asked as he looked at the closed door, chewing lightly on the inside of his lips.

"Oh never mind her. Skip school today Soul." Blair purred as she leaned against him, her fingers drawing small circles on his chest.

Soul grinned, Maka slipping out of his mind. "Maybe skipping the first few classes wouldn't be so bad." Soul murmured as he smirked down at Blair.

Maka stepped into her favorite café on her way to school. "Maka! It's good to see ya." Kilik called out as he approached her and drew her into a hug.

"Hey. Shift ending already?" she asked him.

He nodded. "Come on, breakfast is on me." He said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to one of the tables and sat her down next to him on one of the tables. "What's wrong?" he asked her after he placed their order, already knowing what Maka likes.

"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong!" Maka exclaimed looking in the other direction.

"Maka…" Kilik said with a small chuckle. "I know when you are lying… why are you lying to your best friend… it's about Soul isn't it?" he asked, his chuckle disappearing as he sat up straighter.

"Is it that obvious?" Maka asked smiling nervously as she nervously played with her fingers.

"Maka… the only reason that I could read you like a book is because you are letting me. Heck, I think that if I wasn't a meister, I'd be your weapon." Kilik said chuckling as their coffees were served to them.

Maka shrugged and looked down at her coffee, a frown on her face. "They were doing it again…" Maka trailed off trying not to remember the sounds, wincing.

"Maka, I don't know how many times I've told you, you could move in with me whenever you want." Kilik said his hands going to cover hers. "They aren't going to stop just because you are there. Soul is a fool for not noticing how much you love him." Kilik said, squeezing her hands lightly.

Maka sighed. "I guess it'd be a good idea… I'll pack up my things after school, of course Soul is still going to be my weapon… but I'm just tired of going through all this crap." Maka said wiping away a tear before it slipped away from her.

"That's better, I'll help ya, now come on, finish your coffee and I'll give you a ride to school." Kilik said before he took a sip from his own coffee.

Maka managed to put on a small smile as she drank her coffee. "I just want to get this day over with." Maka mumbled once they finished their coffee and walked out the door to Kilik's car.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Songs I listened too:**_

_**#1: Thanks For The Memories- Fall Out Boy**_

_**#2: Again- Flyleaf**_

_**#3: Watcha Say- Jason Derulo\**_

_**#4: Evil Angel- Breaking Benjamin**_

_**#5: Knock You Down –Keri Hillson ft, Kanye West and NeYo**_

_**#6: Welcome To The Family- Avenged Sevenfold.**_

_**(Weird mix of songs huh? XD Anyways, it'd be a good idea to listen to them while you read, they are in no particular order though, just so you know.)**_

Maka wasn't popular at school… at all. If it wasn't for Kilik and Soul and Black*Star, she would be a loner and blend in with the shadows. They were the ones that introduced her to the friends that she knows and loves. There's sweet Tsubaki, paranoid Liz, OCD Kid, and Bi-polar Patti… they were a strange group of friends but they were her friends.

Kilik and Maka walked up the steps of the DWMA when they heard Black*Star. "Oi! Maka's late!" Black*Star yelled out from the entrance, pointing and laughing.

Maka's eyes widened and she quickly checked her watch.

"Maka, it was a joke." Tsubaki said a s she scowled at Black*Star.

Maka let out a small sigh of relief before glaring daggers at Black*Star.

"Chillax Maka, where's Soul?" He asked.

Maka flinched and looked down.

Kilik patted her back and shook his head quickly at Black*Star when Maka wasn't looking.

"Oh, he's with Blair then?" Back*Star asked only to be smacked against the head by Tsubaki.

"Sorry Black*Star." Tsubaki mumbled as she grabbed a hold of his collar and pulled him through the hallways.

"You shall see your god again soon!" Black*Star called out, not bothering to struggle against Tsubaki as she dragged him to class.

"Maka, you don't have to put up with Soul." Kid said as he walked up to her from inside the building having heard Black*Star's rants.

"Where are Liz and Patty?" Maka asked changing the subject.

Kid's eyebrows rose and Maka sighed. "I don't know what's gotten into me, normally I wouldn't be so damn moody… Damn it Soul." Maka growled her hands going to cover her face.

Kilik frowned down at Maka. "Come on, we don't want you to be late for class, I bet that class will get you to stop thinking about Soul." Kilik said as he guided Maka past Kid and into the school.

Maka sighed and looked up, determination hitting her hard. "I'm not going to let him ruin my life… I'm not going to replace him as a weapon… I trust him… it's the fact that he does those things with Blair that bothers me." Maka said but then shook her head. "Bad Maka, bad. Think about science, math, the upcoming test- wait a minute! There's a test last hour!" she exclaimed about to lose her head. She didn't study! "No!" she exclaimed.

Kilik smirked, there's the Maka that everyone knew and loved, they were beginning to miss her.

"Let's skip the first hours and go to the library to study for the test." Kilik said and then looked back to see Kid was about to walk past them. "Hey, could you take notes for us?" he asked him.

Kid smirked but then his smile vanished. "It might not be symmetrical though… but if it'll make Maka happy… I guess I could try." Kid said a slight frown on his face. He could already imagine the imperfect k's and L's… he shuddered in disgust and walked faster to class, the faster this was over, the faster it would be over with.

Maka looked up and let out a small chuckle, shaking her head. "Poor Kid." She muttered.

"Come on, let's go to the library." Kilik said pushing her in that direction.

Soul stepped into the school an hour later and headed for the class room, a huge smile as he slouched into his usual position and entered the class, interrupting Stein.

"Soul Eater-" Stein started but Soul interrupted him.

"Yeah, yeah, to the library, I know." Soul mumbled as he turned his back to the class and went to the library to receive his punishment.

He walked in, his hands buried deep with his pockets as he used his back to push open the doors.

Soul stopped cold when he looked over to see Maka and Kilik arguing with each other over some text books.

Soul could fell something stir inside him but he ignored the feeling as he walked over to them and sat next to Maka. "What are you guys up to?" he asked.

Maka jumped, hurt crossing her features but she quickly recovered and smacked a fake smile on her face. "Studying." She said cheerfully.

Kilik rolled his eyes. "By the way, Maka's moving out." He mumbled as he flipped through some pages of a text book that he had in his hand.

"Ha! She wouldn't do that, right Maka?" Soul asked elbowing his meister stomach.

Maka glared at Kilik. "Kilik, not cool! I was supposed to tell him after I was done packing!" Maka hissed at him.

Soul sat there staring at Maka in shock. "Why are you moving out?" he managed to ask.

Maka sighed. "Kilik could you give us a moment?" she asked him.

Kilik gave her a small smile. "Call me over if he tries anything." Kilik said as he got up.

"I trust him enough, I don't think that'll happen." Maka said with a small nod. "But I appreciate your concern." She said as she reached for a text book and opened it, skimming through it.

Kilik walked to another part of the library, giving them some space.

"Maka… explain." Soul said leaning back in his chair.

Maka peeked up at him through her bangs and frowned, not closing her text book. "Why do you think I'm moving out, I'm giving you three guesses." She said as she flipped a page of the text book.

Soul glared at her. "Is it because I don't clean up after myself?" he asked.

Maka smiled and let out a small chuckle. "Although that bothers me a lot, that's not it. Take another guess." She mumbled.

"Um… I keep calling you tiny tits?" he asked.

Maka's grip on the book tightened as she clenched her jaw, desperately trying not to slam her text book shut and Maka-Chop the guy. "That bothers me too… but no, that's not the reason I'm leaving." She grumbled as she angrily flipped another page, ripping it in the process.

"Maka, just tell me so that I can fix it. We've been living together for years, why do you suddenly want to leave me?" he asked.

Maka bit down on her bottom lips and silently shook her head. She looked up from the text book, slowly closing it and setting it on the table then turning her body in her chair so that she would be able to look at him. "You have one more guess." She whispered.

Soul groaned in annoyance, his hands going up to his face. "Um… Do I play my music too loudly?" he asked.

Maka chuckled. "I guess it does have something to do with noise." She whispered a small blush forming on her cheeks as she looked down at the ground. "Soul… I'm not moving out because I suddenly hate you, no, this was bound to happen. Just because I'm moving out, doesn't mean that I don't want you as a weapon, if you'd like, after I move out, we could still be partners… we'll just have some distance between us." Maka began to explain, but Soul grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look him in the eyes.

"Maka, stop stalling, tell me why you're leaving me." He growled a cold glare in his eyes.

Maka shook her head. "You're selfish you know that?" she mumbled as she took in a deep breath and thought of the ways she could tell him the reason that she's moving out. Her face were turning into all sorts of shades of red. "Um… how do I say this?" she mumbled. "You're too loud." She said not being able to look him in the eyes as she quickly looked down at a text book, grabbed it and opened it, trying to keep her eyes busy.

Soul blinked at her. "I'm too loud? What the hell kind of reason is that?" he growled.

"You didn't get it did you?" she asked him, trying to avoid eye contact.

"What is there to get Maka? You're leaving me for the dumb reason of me talking to loudly." Soul said, pissed beyond belief as his fingers twitched to grab her by the shoulders again and shake some sense into her.

"I-it's not the talking that bothers me, that's fine." She mumbled, not looking up from the text book.

"Maka spit it out. Stop confusing the hell out of me." Soul said letting his head fall down on the table.

Maka sighed, the blush returning to her cheeks. "Um… when you and…. And Blair are… you know… in your room… you tend to be a bit too loud." She whispered looking in the other direction.

Soul froze a blush of his own going to flush his cheeks. He blinked as realization hit him, this was she's been weird around him lately… "Maka, I'm sorry… I, uh, I guess I could try to be more quiet." He mumbled.

Maka let out a small chuckle as she shook her head. "You really are stupid." She said looking him in the eyes.

"What did I say this time?" Soul asked her.

"You don't know the damage you do to me every time that I hear you guys." She said; hurt bubbling up to her eyes.

"What are you talking about Maka?" Soul asked his heart starting to pound in his chest.

Maka sighed and took in a deep breath, trying to calm down her speeding heart. "Soul… I… ever since…" she couldn't say it. She gnawed on the inside of her cheek and reached over the table to grab a pencil and a piece of paper and quickly jotted it down and folded it into a tiny square then handed it to him.

She looked him in the eyes and grabbed his hand. "Do not open this until tomorrow after school. Just keep in mind…. Curiosity killed the cat." She mumbled. "Please leave me alone Soul." Maka whispered, her heart slowly dying as she said those words to him.

Soul looked at her, angered by the lack of information that he had gotten. "You know what? I'm glad you're moving out. You've always been a bitch." He growled before he could stop himself and he mentally slapped himself when he saw the reaction that he had caused.

Maka's hand tightened around the text book she had and her heart died out for a second. Silently she stood up and walked away, not wanting him to see how bad those words affected her.

"Maka, come on. Don't be that way, you know I was just kidding." He said but Maka kept walking forward, her eyes glaring holes on the ground.

"Maka! Watch out!" they heard Kilik yell and they both looked up to see the bookshelf next to them tipping over.

Maka looked at Soul and then back at the book shelf with wide eyes. Her heart thudded against her chest as she pushed him out of the way… but it was too late for her.

The book shelf came crashing down on Maka and she let out an ear splitting scream filled with agony, one that will haunt Soul for the rest of his life as he quickly scrambled to get up and pick up the book shelf, but it was way to heavy.

"Maka!" he yelled out.

There was silence and then Kilik ran over to see Soul trying to pick up the book shelf. "Don't tell me…" Kilik said in shock and he shook his head. "You're supposed to be her weapon! You're supposed to protect her!" he yelled at him as he tried to lift the book shelf but failed.

"I would have if I could have, but she pushed me out of the way before I could do anything!" Soul exclaimed, anger bubbling up in him.

"I'm going to go get Sid. He's stronger than both of us." Kilik said as he ran off to find Sid.

Soul stepped in something wet and looked down… his heart stopped at the sight… blood.

His legs couldn't support him as he fell to the ground, his eyes blurring up with tears as his jaw slacked. "I'm sorry Maka." He whispered and looked at the note that was in his hand.

He shook his head and opened it up.

_I love you Soul._ It said and the tears slipped out of him as his body began to shake violently.

Wiping away the tears he stuffed the note back into his pocket and worked on getting Maka out of there. "I'm sorry Maka… I'm sorry for hurting you so badly." Soul growled as he managed to somewhat lift the book shelf just when Sid ran over to lift it Kilik sitting there ready to pull Maka out. They didn't know whether she was dead or alive.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Songs I listened to while writing X)**_

_**#1: Sorry, Blame It On Me- Akon**_

_**#2: Evil Angel – Breaking Benjamin**_

_**#3: Watcha Say – Jason Derulo (I just love this song! XD)**_

_**#4: The Reason- Hoobastank**_

_**#5: Lips of an Angel – Hinder**_

Maka groaned in pain, trying desperately not to scream as she started to see stars. Her entire body was in pain… but it was worth it… she had saved her weapon… the love of her life, and she would die not regretting it.

She kept her eyes closed, hoping that it'll help ease the pain but nothing, she was trapped under that book shelf.

Suddenly, she felt a little lighter, she opened her eyes to see that she could see some light, but she was about to pass out from the pain.

"Maka, hold on. We'll get you some help soon." She heard Kilik say as he got a hold of her waist and pulled her.

Maka couldn't help but let out a scream of agony.

"Let go of her! You're hurting her!" she heard Soul yell angrily, but just then blackness took over.

"Don't argue now! Get her out of there! This is heavier than it looks!" Sid growled holding up the book shelf.

Kilik pulled out Maka and Sid let the book shelf fall.

"Get her to the Stein now! I have to see how this happened." Sid said calmly as he looked at the book shelf.

Kilik gathered Maka in his arms and ran out the door, Soul following closely, jealousy, anger and sadness flaring through his body.

Kilik burst into Steins class and everyone gasped when they saw who he was holding. "Stein, we need you to fix her." Kilik said placing Maka on his desk.

Stein looked down at Maka. "What happened?" he asked as he grabbed his tool box from under his desk.

Soul stepped in before Kilik could answer. "Could the questions be asked once Maka is in the clear?" he growled.

"Kilik calm him down and then explain what's going on to the class." Stein muttered as he took in Maka's appearance.

Her left arm was bent the wrong way, and her left knee was at an odd angle. At the left tip of her mouth, it ripped almost to the edge of her jaw, the blood was dripping down from her ripped up cheek to her left ear and onto his desk. Opening his tool box, he grabbed a needle with a long piece of thread and started to stitch her up.

The class tried not to pay attention to Maka, but it was impossible. Some classmates were crying others were passes out at the sight of the blood. Kilik got their attention and tried to explain what had happened.

Soul watched everything happen, sadness in his eyes as he buried his hand in his pocket, his hand fisting around Maka's note, a single tear escaping him as his other hand lightly grabbed her uninjured one.

Stein rolled his eyes. "She's gonna live." He murmured as he popped her arm and knee back in to place.

"She saved me Stein." He said not taking his eyes off her.

"Tell me, what happened?" Stein asked, but Soul kept quiet as he watched Stein bandage Maka's arm and leg.

"She won't be able to walk for a while, and as you can see her left arms pretty bad. No damages were done to the right side of her body. Her body will make a full recovery… her face unfortunately will stay that way. She should be able to talk fine though… take her to the nurse's office for now, make sure she rests." Stein said patting Soul's head leaving some of Maka's blood in Soul's white hair. "Oops." He muttered as he walked around his desk to look at his class. "Now where were we before we were interrupted?" he asked as Soul gathered Maka into his arms and hugged her to him.

"Soul? What are you doing?" Kilik asked tapping his shoulder. "Come on, we have to get her to the nurses office."

"Right." He mumbled as he walked ahead of Kilik and walked out the door, Kilik close behind.

"She told you why she wanted to move out right?" Kilik asked as they walked down the halls.

"Don't tell me you knew." Soul said hiding his face in Maka's neck so that Kilik wouldn't see the blush on his face.

"All of us knew Soul. You really hurt her, yet she insisted to stay there and suffer… Soul… let her move out, she's been through enough." Kilik said, putting his hand on Soul's shoulder.

Soul shook it off, refusing to look up. "I'll stop… I'm not going to let her leave my side." Soul growled.

"Easier said than done Soul… you're being selfish, think about Maka, think about how she felt… she's hurting emotionally Soul…" Kilik said.

Soul's heart began to slow down as he took in what Kilik was saying…

He looked up, a cold look in his eyes. "We have to get her to the nurses office." Soul mumbled changing the subject.

"Soul, I'm serious." Kilik said.

Soul looked back at him, a glare in his eyes. "When Maka wakes up, I'll let her decide if she wants to stay or go, but just so you know… I'll do anything for my meister… anything." Soul growled, his hold tightening around Maka as he walked din the direction of the nurses office again.

Kilik sighed and turned to go to the library to find out just how this mess happened.

Soul stepped into the nurse's office to see that it was empty. He set Maka down on the bed and pulled up a chair next to it, grabbing her hand and holding it in his tightly as he bowed his head.

This wouldn't have happened if he hadn't insulted her… the words just escaped his mouth, he couldn't control them!

"I'm sorry Maka… so sorry." He muttered and brought her hand to his mouth, giving it light kisses, hoping that she could somehow forgive him.

Soul looked up to see her face was still covered in blood. Getting up he looked for a towel. When he found one, he walked over to a nearby sink and turned on the water making sure it wasn't too cold and walked over to Maka's side.

Pushing away the bangs from her face, he winced when he saw the scar… this was his fault…

Taking in a deep breath, he gently wiped away the blood and let the towel drop to the ground when the blood was gone.

Placing both hands on both sides of her face, he looked down at her, his thumb caressing the scar on her face… his fault that it was there… all his fault.

He bent down, closing his eyes as their forehead touched… He opened his eyes. She looked beautiful to him with or without the scar… this was his meister… his partner… the woman that he… loved?

He blinked… did he really love her? He looked at her scar and a small smile lit his face… she sacrificed herself for him, just like he had sacrificed himself for her.

One of his hands let go of her face to touch the scar on his chest over his clothing while his other hand fingered the scar on her cheek. "I'm sorry Maka… this is my fault." He whispered bending down to kiss her scar.

He pulled away and let his finger trace over her scar… he didn't care how she looked… she was fine the way she was. Maka is Maka no matter what she looked like, and he was fine with that.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: I'm happy today so I decided to give you guys the present of uploading twice! X)**_

_**Song's I listened to while writing:**_

_**#1: Again-Flyleaf**_

_**#2: For You- Stained**_

_**#3: Life Is Beautiful- Sixx A.M.**_

_**#4: Gone Forever- Three Days Grace**_

_**#5: Stay Alive- Trapt**_

_**#6: Sally's Song- Amy Lee**_

_**#7: Cry Me A River- Justin Timberlake**_

_**#8: Thanks For The Memories- Fall Out Boy**_

Maka woke up to the sound of people arguing.

"Soul, leave, it's time to close up for the night." She heard Naigus say.

"I'm not leaving her alone." She heard Soul growl… wait Soul? Shouldn't he be at that apartment by now?

Maka blinked her eyes open and looked over to see Soul seated in a chair next to her bed, holding onto her hand.

"Naigus? What's going on?" she asked. "Why am I here?"

Naigus looked between her and Soul and decided that it would be best to leave them alone. She quickly exited the room and closed the door behind her.

"You don't remember?" Soul asked a bit of pain in his eyes… she didn't remember that she had saved him… was this a good thing?

She gave him a confused look but then shook it off. "Soul I need to talk to you." She mumbled sitting up but winced when she felt pain shoot up her arm.

Looking down she saw that it was bandaged up. "What happened to my arm?" she asked.

"I'll explain that later. What do you have to tell me?" Soul asked, eyes filled with hope as he leaned in towards her, his hand gripping her good one tightly.

Maka looked at him curiously… what was up with him? "Soul… I'm moving out." She said as she looked into his eyes.

His smile turned into a frown as he let go of her hand. "Oh…" was all he said. "I know." He mumbled.

"What do you mean you know? Did Kilik tell you?" Maka asked confused.

"You really don't remember." He whispered, his hand going to his pockets where he had kept the note.

"Soul? What happened?" she asked as she looked around the room. Her eyes landed on the table at the corner of the room. There were a few 'Get Better' balloons floating there, tied to a fruit basket, and a few other things.

Soul sighed, getting up and grabbing a hand mirror and giving it to her. "You saved me from a book shelf." He grumbled sitting back down once she grabbed the mirror.

Maka stared at him and let out a small laugh. "You're kidding right?" she asked and then frowned when he didn't look up. "My god, you're serious." She said. "I never thought that books would try to take me out one day." Maka said trying to make Soul smile but failed.

"Look at what it caused." He whispered looking up at her.

"Soul it can't be that bad." Maka said, but froze when she held up the mirror with her good hand. "I… I look hideous…" she whispered. She let the mirror drop in her lap and her hand went up to feel the scar… "This has got to be some cruel joke. Black*Star? Where are you?" Maka called out angrily searching the room.

"Maka, this isn't a joke." Soul whispered taking her hand and massaging it lightly, trying to calm her down.

She looked him in the eye and frowned when she saw that he was serious.

"God… Soul Tell me this is going to go away…" she murmured but Soul stayed quiet. "Soul! Tell me it's going to go away!" she yelled at him yanking her hand away from his grasp.

"You want me to lie to you then?" Soul asked, his voice sounding harsher than he meant it to sound.

Maka flinched and took in deep calming breaths before she allowed herself to calm down. "Soul… I want to be left alone." Maka said causing him to flinch and look down at his hands that were on his lap. "I need time to think." She whispered her hand going up to her scar again.

Soul sighed. "I'll be back tomorrow to bring you breakfast… don't do anything stupid Maka, I mean it." Soul said as he patted her head and got up, grabbing his jacket and leaving the room.

Maka sighed and leaned against the bed. "I love you." She whispered at the closed door, but she knew that he didn't hear her.

"Oh do you now?" she heard someone ask.

"Who's there?" she called out looking around for any sort of weapon that she could use to defend herself… but came up short.

A purple kitten jumped onto the bed, a glare in its eyes.

"Oh, it's just you Blair. What are you doing here?" Maka asked relaxing back into her bed, letting her head fall back as she looked up at the ceiling.

"Soul's mine." Blair growled her claws sinking into Maka's injured leg.

Maka jumped and hissed in pain. "What the hell Blair? Get off!" she yelled as she used her good leg to kick Blair off.

Maka looked down at her leg to see that it had three cuts caused by Blair's claws and it was bleeding badly. She glared down at Blair.

"He's mine Maka. He'll never be yours." Blair hissed her back arching as she hissed at Maka.

"I never said that I was going to take him away from you." Maka growled as she reached to touch her injury with her good hand and flinched at the pain.

"Maka, if you know what's good for him, you'll leave us alone. You'll leave Death city and never come back." Blair hissed at her.

"Are you threatening Soul?" Maka growled, anger lit a fire deep inside her.

"I'm threatening you. I know how important Soul is to you… but he's mine." Blair hissed. "you'll see what I mean tomorrow." Blair hissed and started to prance towards a chair at the far end.

"Where do you think you're going Blair?" Maka growled, her good hand clenching into a fist as she sat up straighter. "Don't you dare hurt Soul."

"I'm sorry Maka but I can't stay any longer. Soul will be waiting for me at home." Blair said snickering as she jumped out the open window.

"Blair!" Maka yelled out but the cat was gone. "You better not hurt Soul." Maka growled glaring at the open window.

For the rest of the night, Maka couldn't get any sleep; she just kept staring at the open window, wondering hopelessly what Blair was going to do to Soul as she tried to ignore the pain on her leg.

"Damn! I can't move…" she whispered. "I would have beaten her ass by now." She growled.

The next morning Soul stumbled in a bag of breakfast in one hand and his other arm was in a cast.

"What the hell happened to you?" Maka exclaimed.

"Nothing." Soul said quickly as he handed her the bag. "Brought you breakfast like I said I would." Soul said with a smile that reached his eyes.

Maka sighed; a yawn escaping her as she tiredly rubbed her eyes and pulled out a plate of burnt pancakes. She smirked. "Still don't know how to cook huh?" she asked him chuckling.

He frowned at her and she just smirked. "It's the thought that counts Soul. Thank you." Maka mumbled as she took a bite out of it and tried to swallow it just to get a smile on his face.

He rolled his eyes and put the plate back into the bag and threw it to the trash. "We don't want to get you sick; you're already in a terrible condition as it is Maka." Soul said chuckling.

Maka smiled but then it vanished when she saw his cast again. "Soul, tell me what happened to your arm." She muttered… but she had a feeling that it was the warning that Blair said she would give Maka.

"The brakes on my bike stopped working, okay? I don't know how it happened, there I was cruising down the road and the next thing I know, I crash into a tree." Soul growled looking down at the ground angrily.

Blair did this to him… she was serious.

Maka sat back and thought about what she was going to do… it was for Soul's sake.

"Soul… I'm going to start packing up today." She murmured looking down at her hands.

"Maka, I know that you want to move in with Kilik-" Soul started but was interrupted by Maka.

"No Soul, I'm not moving in with Kilik… I'm moving out of Death City." Maka mumbled avoiding eye contact with Soul.

Soul stared at Maka. "No." he growled.

"What do you mean no?" Maka exclaimed, looking up with a bewildered expression.

"Maka, you don't know what you're doing." He growled and then looked down to see her injured leg. "Blair was here wasn't she?" he asked when he saw the scratches that she had left on Maka.

"Don't change the subject on me Soul. Why no? I'm old enough to live on my own." She growled.

"Maka, Blair is pushing you to do something you're going to regret." He growled the scratches on Maka's leg was all the proof that he needed.

"Soul I'm moving and that's final." She growled.

"No you're not." He growled back as he toward over her.

This was for him… she was hurting him for his own good. "I don't want to be your meister anymore Soul." She snarled at him.

Soul's whole body froze up as his eyes widened. He shook his head. "You're lying." He said as he straightened up.

"Soul, just leave, don't make this any more difficult than it has to be I'll send someone to pick up my stuff at the apartment." She mumbled looking into his eyes.

Soul stumbled back… hurt flashing through his eyes as he shook his head. "I don't believe you Maka." He mumbled.

"You don't have to. Soul, I'm not your meister anymore. Move on with your life." She yelled at him sucking up her tears, she was not going to cry in front of him, she'll have time for that later.

"Maka-" Soul started but was once again interrupted by her.

"Get the fuck out of here Soul!" she yelled at him.

His eyes grew cold as he jammed his good hand into his pocket where Maka's note was… something was off. "No!" he yelled back at her.

Maka glared at him. "Get out Soul, before it's too late." She growled.

"No." he insisted.

She didn't want to do this… she didn't want to hurt him anymore than she had to… but it was for his own good… just for him… "I've always hated you Soul…" she growled, her eyes clenched tightly.

"I refuse to believe that." He said but he was starting to believe her against his own will.

"You've always been an annoying brat Soul." She managed to say.

Soul took a step forward. "You don't mean that." He said, his heart breaking… where was the Maka that risked her life for him?

"You were always so fucking selfish, it was unbearable! How I managed to survive all these years I don't know." She spat at him.

Soul took a few steps back, but he was persistent, he kept shaking his head.

"Soul, I don't ever want to see you again. Don't try to contact me, don't try to find me, don't come anywhere near me. I hate you with all my heart. I despise you so much it hurts." Maka yelled at him causing him to flinch and his breath start to labor as his heart began to speed up and his eyes start to water.

He shook his head silently at her. "Maka… I love you." He murmured.

Maka's whole body tensed up as she forced herself to shake her head and chuckle. "Do you call fucking other women love?"

When Soul didn't respond she forced herself to chuckle. Soul refused to move from the spot he was standing… the Maka that saved him was completely gone… why? "What?" she growled at him.

"I really thought you were different Maka…" he whispered.

"Apparently you were wrong." She growled, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Yeah… apparently." He whispered as he turned his back to his ex-partner and walked out the door without looking back, fully intending on skipping school that day and just sulk in his room.

When the door slowly shut itself closed Maka let herself fall back on the bed… "I had to do it Soul… I'm sorry." She whispered as she grabbed the pillow behind her head and hugged it to herself, burying her head in it. "I'm so sorry." She sobbed into the pillow.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: These are the songs that I listened to while writing, in no particular order X):**_

_**#1: Again- Flyleaf**_

_**#2: Gone Forever- Three Days Grace**_

_**#3: For You- Staind**_

_**#4: Everybody's Fool- Evanescence**_

_**#5: Lithium- Evanescence**_

_**#6: Call Me When You're Sober- Evanescence**_

_**#7: Hate Me- Blue October**_

_**#8: Broken – Seether ft. Amy Lee**_

Soul stormed into the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him. His hair and clothes were dripping wet and sticking to his skin. His motorcycle was totaled so he had to walk back to the apartment in the pouring rain since he didn't have enough money for a cab.

Soul was seething… how could Maka do this to him? She had given him a note that said that she loved him!

He stormed into his room, grabbing his desk chair and throwing it against the wall and then finding the strength to flip his desk to the side with his good hand watching it crash onto the ground with a loud smack, the papers that were on it scattered all over the ground.

Soul wasn't done yet, he jumped over his desk and headed for his night stand grabbing the lamp that was on it, yanking it's cord out of the outlet and throwing it across the room. It hit the wall by his closet, breaking to a ton of pieces of shards of glass, sprinkling the floor next to it.

Soul snarled as he stomped to his closet leaving puddles of water with every step he took. He yanked open the door, letting it slam into the wall, the door knob making a hole on the wall.

He grabbed a bunch of clothes, ripping them away from the hangers, breaking some of them in the process and then throwing the clothes onto the floor all his shirts and jackets hitting the ground.

Soul grabbed at his hair, falling to his knees and wincing when he realized that he had fallen on the shards of glass but he ignored it as he threw his head back and let out a roar, letting all of his emotions escape him with that one yell. Anger, frustration, sadness, betrayal... hatred. He could feel his soul start to cloud over with these negative emotions as his body caved so that he was arching his back and his fist came pounding to the ground repeatedly, the shards of glass sinking into the skin on his hand.

Soul suddenly stopped, he was panting hard, his wet hair sticking to his forehead, his face flushed with anger and his eyes screwed shut as he felt his heart slow down.

Slowly, his fist unclenched and his whole body seemed to relax as he let himself fall to the ground completely as only one of the emotions took over… sadness.

Sadness at the fact that Maka will no longer live with him. Sadness at the fact that he had the chance to love her. Sadness at the fact that his sacrifices for her were for nothing… sadness at the fact that she hated him all this time, how could he be such a fool?

Taking in deep breaths he rolled himself so that he was lying on his back and reached into his pocket to pull out the note that she had given him.

"And to think I believed you." He whispered as he jammed the small piece of paper into his mouth and swallowed it as he looked up at the ceiling… shaking his head from side to side as the shards of glass stabbed into his back. "How am I going to live without you Maka?" he whispered.

"Soul! I'm home!" he heard Blair call out and his room door was opened.

There stood Blair her eyes bugging out of her skull when she took in his room. "What did you do Soul?" she asked him.

"Leave Blair, and never come back…. I don't EVER want to see you again." He mumbled, not moving to look at her, his gaze never leaving the ceiling.

"Soul, you're over reacting." Blair said leaning against his door way.

"I'm serious Blair. Move out." Soul growled, his jaw clenching, but he refused to look at her.

"And if I say no?" she asked him.

"I'll make your life a living hell." He growled, his anger bubbling back up quickly.

"Soul, I'm not going to leave. I'm not a coward like Maka." Blair said as she picked at her nails.

Soul stood up quickly and strode to her, grabbing her by the little article of clothing that Blair called a shirt and pulled her up with his good hand so that they were looking eye to eye. "Get the fuck out before I lose the little bit of cool that I still have." He growled.

Blair glared at him. "I'll come back once you've cooled down." She mumbled pushing away from him and walking to the door.

"You better not come back if you know what's good for you." Soul growled. "I should get myself a dog." He growled as he slammed the door of his room and sprawled out in his bed as thunder roared to life outside and a flash of lightning struck outside his window.

Sighing, he sat up and grabbed a change of clothes from the ground and his drawers and went to the bathroom to take a long bath.

Maka sat there hugging her pillow with her good arm, she didn't know how long it's been but she didn't care.

Someone knocked on the door but she didn't respond… she didn't think she could, she couldn't find her voice.

"Maka, it's me Kilik, mind if I come in?" he asked but Maka couldn't respond, she just closed her eyes tight and clutched the pillow to her even tighter.

Kilik peeked his head in. "Maka? What's wrong?" he asked as he stepped inside closing the door gently behind him and going to sit down next to her on the bed.

Maka let out a small sob and shook her head.

"This is about Soul right?" he asked.

Maka nodded and another sob escaped her.

"I'll go kick his ass for you." Kilik growled, jumping off the bed and going for the door.

"It wasn't his fault… I did this." She whispered, her voice emotionless.

"Maka… what are you talking about?" Kilik asked her sitting back down.

"I… I'm moving out of Death City." She whispered.

Kilik sat there looking down at her. "Are you sure? Maka, maybe you're being a bit hasty, I understand that you want to move out of your apartment… but why Death City? All of your friends are here." Kilik whispered.

Maka nodded and sniffled. "I've made up my mind Kilik, you can't change it." She whispered.

Kilik nodded and looked down at his hands. "Oh, before I forget. We've found a note on the book shelf that fell on you." He said reaching into his pocket and pulling out an envelope that read 'Maka'.

"The thing that caused all this damage?" Maka answered, recalling that Soul had told her that she had saved him.

Kilik nodded and handed her the note. "We already read it, it left us with more questions than answers. We're hoping that maybe you know what it means." He said as he handed her the note.

Maka sat up and reached over to grab the note, pulling it out of it's envelope and unfolding it.

_**Maka.**_

_**I'm guessing that you already know how Soul broke his arm, and yes this was all my fault, the book shelf and the motorcycle… and soon it'll be more if you don't leave.**_

_**He's mine Maka, I mean it, do as I told you before it's too late for the both of you.**_

_**Sincerely,**_

_**You know who.**_

Maka shook her head angrily, as she crunched up the note in her good hand.

"Maka what's wrong?" Kilik asked, his hand going to cover her fisted one.

She shook her head, her body tensing as she tightly shut her eyes. "Nothing." She mumbled… Blair was the one causing this damage.

"Do you know who wrote this?" he asked, looking her in the eyes.

"Kilik, I don't know and I don't care." She mumbled.

Kilik looked dumbfounded. "Maka, this person tried to assassinate both you and Soul." Kilik said.

Maka shook her head again. "I said I didn't care Kilik." She mumbled but then sighed. "Kilik, could you do me a favor?" she asked.

"Could you go pack up my stuff? Please? And then bring it back here to me." She whispered looking out the window.

Kilik sighed and nodded knowing that he wasn't going to get her to change her mind. "Alright Maka." He murmured as he stood up and walked out the door.

"Bye Kilik." Maka whispered as he closed the door.

Throwing her legs off the bed, Maka reached for the phone that was on the night stand next to her bed and dialed the number.

She held it to her ear and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?" he heard him ask from the other end of the line.

Sighing, bot believing that she was about to do this, she answered. "Papa? It's me Maka." She mumbled.

There was silence on the other end and then a whole bunch of shouting.

"Papa! Calm down! I want to ask you a favor… could you buy me an airplane ticket?" she asked him.

After about ten minutes of arguing with each other through the phone, Maka managed to convince her father to buy her a ticket to go stay with her mother.

_**A/N: I know Spirit was being OOC by not storming into the nurses office and begging Maka not to leave, but Spirit tends to annoy me a bit when he does that, so I didn't bother writing out that part.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: I've decided to go a little old school this time and listen to the songs that my dad and I listen to. X) I wonder what the world would be like if these were the popular songs of today.**_

_**#1: Welcome To The Jungle- Guns and Roses**_

_**#2: Sweet Child O' Mine- Guns and Roses**_

_**#3: Paradise City- Guns and Roses**_

_**#4: Another Brick On The Wall- Pink Floyd.**_

_**But then I gave up on them because they weren't really setting the mood and started listening to something else**_

_**#5: Still Frame- Trapt**_

_**#6: For You- Staind (I find it goes good with the story)**_

_**#7: Call Me When Your Sober- Evanescence**_

_**#8: You're Gonna Go Far Kid- The Offspring**_

_**#9: Last Resort- Papa Roach**_

_**#10: Going Under- Evanescence**_

Kilik knocked on the apartment door, Tsubaki standing behind him. "Thanks for helping me with this Tsubaki." Kilik said as he shoved his hands into his jean pockets waiting for Soul to open the door.

"No problem, I had to send Black*Star to visit Maka, though. I hope she doesn't mind." Tsubaki said sweetly scratching the back of her neck.

"I'm sure she won't mind." Kilik said as he knocked on the door again.

"I hope we don't walk in on anything awkward." Tsubaki murmured.

"I don't think we will Tsubaki. When Soul was taking Maka to the nurses office… I saw that something that shows that he cares for Maka, and I don't mean, Meister and weapon level of caring, I mean actual love… It's too bad it hit him too late… she's moving out of Death City." Kilik mumbled as he kicked at the ground at his feet,

"I hope Black*Star manages to convince her otherwise." Tsubaki mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Kilik asked as he knocked on the door again. He didn't mind talking to Tsubaki, but he had to start packing Maka's stuff.

"When Black*Star wants something, he always has a knack of getting it. When I told him that Maka was planning on moving, he insisted on talking to her." Tsubaki said a small smile forming on her face.

Kilik smirked. "Black*Star vs. Maka, who would win?" he asked chuckling as the door was flung open.

"Here to pack up Maka's stuff?" Soul asked the, his hair wet from the bath, he was already in his pajamas.

"Yeah, sorry Soul, nothing against you man." Kilik mumbled holding his hand out.

"No problem." Soul mumbled taking it and doing some sort of weird handshake.

"You guys know where her room is." He mumbled as he waved hello at Tsubaki.

She nodded at him and walked towards Maka's room passing Soul's.

They froze when they looked inside his room. "Soul? What happened?" Kilik asked him.

"What are you talking about?" Soul asked him as he flipped through the channels on the T.V.

"How did you manage to flip your desk?" Kilik asked.

"Why are you guys looking into my room?" Soul asked, not really angry, all his energy was spent.

"It's wide open, how can we not?" Tsubaki mumbled.

"Look, Maka said that she didn't want to be my meister anymore… I had to get my anger out somehow." He mumbled, not looking away from the T.V.

"Soul, when I get mad, I hit the gym, not trash my room." Kilik mumbled.

"I'll clean it later." Soul growled.

"Here, I'll help you clean it." Kilik grumbled, being a good friend sometimes can be harder than it seems.

"Thanks Kilik, that means a lot." Soul mumbled as he got up and went to his room.

"You don't mind packing for Maka alone do you Tsubaki?" Kilik asked.

"No you go ahead and help Soul, I'll pack up Maka's things." Tsubaki said and walked into Maka's room.

Soul started to pick up his clothes that were on the ground and throw them on the bed for the time being, while Kilik flipped Soul's desk back into place and then started to pick up the papers stacking them in a pile on top of the desk.

Soul looked down at the shards of glass on the ground and went to get a broom when he came back he saw Kilik looking down at a picture of Maka. "Since when do you have this?" he asked setting it on the desk.

Soul blinked and snatched it away before Kilik could grab it again. "Maka must have left it in here or something." Soul grumbled as he stuffed it into his pocket and went to clean up the broken glass.

"Soul, stop it. Why would you sleep with Blair if you loved Maka?" Kilik asked as he finished up picking up the papers.

"I don't know Kilik… I'm a guy, and Blair kept torturing me with her-" Soul started but was interrupted by a hand waving in his face.

"No, too much detail, don't even try." Kilik said disgust in his voice.

Soul rolled his eyes. "Anyways, it was too much temptation… I didn't mean to hurt Maka." He mumbled as he went to throw away the glass and put back the broom before going back the to the clothes that were on his bed and going to put them back on hangers and shoving the ones that didn't have un-broken hangers into drawers that weren't occupied.

Once his room looked fairly clean he let himself fall back on his bed and let out a sigh.

"Hey Kilik?" he mumbled sitting up and looking at him.

Kilik stopped his organizing of papers for a second and looked back at Soul. "Huh?" he asked before giving up on the papers and jumping to sit on top of the desk.

"You don't have any weapons do you?" he asked Kilik.

"Soul Eater? Are you asking to be my weapon? You just got disowned! Take some time off!" Kilik said.

Soul flinched. "I just wanted to go on missions, you know, distract myself from the pain." He mumbled.

"I've heard that people actually don't need Meister… it's just more challenging, but if you're up to it, I think it's possible you could go on missions on your own." Kilik said. "Well, I'm done here, I'm gonna go help Tsubaki." Kilik said hoping off the bed and walking out of the room.

Soul sat there, thinking… is it possible that he could be his own weapon?

He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear the goodbyes of his friends as they walked out of the apartment, suit cases in hand.

Maka laid on the bed feeling completely useless, she couldn't move or walk or anything! It was annoying! Her hand went to touch the scar on the edge of her mouth… this was for him… he needed to be safe…

She let out a sigh and let her head hit the pillow; it wouldn't hurt to take a small nap.

Without her noticing as she dozed off, Black*Star entered through the open window, walked quietly to a dark corner of the room and jumped up so that he was on the ceiling, pressing his feet against the wall and his hands against the ceiling making sure to put pressure on both ends so that he wouldn't fall.

He waited about five minutes until he got bored of waiting for Maka to get up. Just as he was about to jump, the door opened and Blair walked in.

Confusion hit him as Blair set up a bunch of candles around Maka. She had a book in her hand.

"Those of the haunted Souls," Blair started to chant reading the book. "Those of the unholy," she said walking over to the farthest candle and grabbing a lighter from her pocket.

Before she lit it, Black*Star jumped down from his place on the ceiling and tackled Blair down. "What the hell do you think you're doing." He growled, his hand going to clamp down on her throat.

"Trying to heal Maka." Blair said, lying through her teeth as she pushed Black*Star off of her, knocking a few candles in the process.

"Heal Maka my ass, I won't let you do that if you have to use haunted souls to do it." Black*Star growled getting into his fighting position, sure he didn't have a weapon with him, but he didn't need one, he was Black*Star! He was a god! He had no need for weapons. Although it'd be nice to have one at the time he needed it…

Blair blinked at him and tried to make a run for the door but Black*Star tripped her and pinned her to the ground.

Suddenly the human wasn't so human anymore as she transformed into a cat and escaped Black*Stars grip, starting to run everywhere in the room.

Black*Star was losing his patience as he managed to strangle the cat in his grasp his hand was about to grab her neck and twist until he heard a pop, but the cat squirmed and escaped his grasp again, leaving him with scratches as it jumped out the window.

"Blair! I know where you live!" he yelled out the window, pointing crazily.

"Black*Star?" Maka asked opening her eyes.

"Oh, hi Maka. I thought you were sleeping." He mumbled as he turned to grab the candles and throw them out the window. "Take your damn candles! We don't need them!" he yelled out, dusting his hands off then closing the window.

Maka blinked at him and sent him a small smile. "Thank you." She managed to say.

He looked at her and smiled, sitting down next to her and patting her hair. "No problem, you could show your god gratitude later, first tell me… why are you leaving us?" Black*Star asked sitting back in his chair while folding his arms in front of his chest.

Maka blinked and shook her head. "You wouldn't understand." She mumbled.

"You broke Soul's heart, that's what I understand… Maka… I thought you loved him." Black*Star mumbled.

"I do… it's… it's just complicated." She mumbled.

"It better be if you're willing to leave us." Black*Star said and sighed. "Look, Maka." He mumbled leaning closer towards her. "You've known me since we were little right?"

Maka nodded, not knowing what he was getting at.

"And I know you; you tend to rush into things thinking that it'll be good for everyone, when in reality it hurts you. Remember that time when we were kids? We were outside running around and I saw a snake. I offered to go tell Sid, but you said you could handle it and when you walked up to it, it latched onto your leg and you kept screaming 'Get it off!'" Black*Star said chuckling with a roll of his eyes. "It was a good thing that snake wasn't poisonous." He said his chuckle dying off as he stared at the ground, his hands going to rest behind his head as he laid back against the chair.

"The thing was going to bite you Black*Star." Maka huffed, frowning.

"No it wasn't, you thought it was, but it was just about to slither away before you had to grab its tail." Black*Star insisted.

"No! It was going to attack you!" she growled.

"The moral of the story is that you jump to conclusions too quickly and you don't think." Black*Star said one of his hands going to tap her forehead before going back to rest behind his head.

Maka rolled her eyes. "This is coming from the famous Black*Star." She mumbled.

"You got that right, bow down to your god." He said chuckling but then sighed. "Look Maka, if you're gonna go, send Tsubaki a letter every once in a while she's gonna miss you." Black*Star mumbled.

Maka looked at him and smirked. "Do you want a letter too?" she asked him.

"Eh, it wouldn't hurt." He said shrugging but smiled.

"I'll send you both letters." She said with a small chuckle.

The door opened to reveal Kilik and Tsubaki with Maka's suit cases. "Maka, I still say you need to think this through." Kilik said as he set the suit case beside her bed.

"Let her move if she wants too, she said she'll write." Black*Star said getting up from his chair and hugged her. "Just know that if you need anything, don't be stubborn and call us, we're your friends, plus, I'm your god, how can I not be there for you?" Black*Star said chuckling, but Maka could tell he wasn't joking when his hug tightened.

She patted his back. "Thanks Black*Star." She mumbled as he backed away.

Tsubaki frowned. "Maka, I think you're over reacting a bit, why move out of Death City?" she asked her.

"Tsubaki… I'll send you letters." Maka said spreading her arm, gesturing for Tsubaki to hug her.

Tsubaki got a few tears in her eyes, she sniffed and wiped them away before bending down to hug Maka.

"Liz, Patty, and Kid called me earlier, they said that they're sorry for not showing up, they're on a mission." Tsubaki explained as she pulled away. "They say goodbye." She whispered. "Bye Maka... don't forget to write." She murmured as she walked out the door.

"Bye Tsubaki!" Maka called out and then turned to Back*Star. "I'll keep in touch." She told him nodding in his direction.

He smiled a small smile. "If you ever need anything… just call." He said as he walked out of the room, going to comfort Tsubaki.

Maka turned to Kilik only to find that he was hugging her. She patted his back with her good hand. "I'm sorry for leaving Kilik." She mumbled.

"I'll miss you Maka." He whispered his grip on her tightening.

"How's about I come back to visit every once in a while?" she asked him.

"That… that would be nice." He mumbled backing away and walking to the door. "Bye Maka." He whispered and gently closed the door behind him.

When the click of the door echoed through the room Maka let the tears out… she was going to miss everybody… bad.

Now she just needed to wait for her Papa to pick her up.


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: IMPORTANT READ! HAS TO DO WITH THE STORY!**_

**So I decided that I was going to skip the part of the story on which Maka boards the plane and the plane ride itself and the cab ride to her mother's home, if you guys want I could write it out, but nothing really happens, her friends had already said good bye to her, and no, Soul does not go to tell her not to leave before she boards the plane, as cheesy as I may be, I have never liked that part in the romance movies, it was obvious that the guy was going to get to the girl before she left or else there would be a really un-happy audience XD. Geez, where was I? Oh yeah, the usual Spirit, begging Maka not to go, but she ignores him and leaves anyways. She boards the plane, it lands, she gets off, calls for a cab and a few minutes later, she at her mom's house. X) See, un-eventful.**

_**Music I listened too:**_

_**#1: Mirror- Lil Wayne ft. Bruno Mars**_

_**#2: All Of The Lights- Kanye West ft. Rihanna**_

_**#3: Call Me When You're Sober- Evanescence**_

_**#4: That Should Be Me- Justin Bieber**_

_**#5: Still Frame- Trapt**_

_**#6: Over And Over- Three Days Grace**_

"Maka!" Kami called out running out of her house and attacking her daughter that was in crutches with a bear hug.

"Mama, it's good to see you too." Maka said hugging her with her good arm.

"Oh, Jared! Could you help Maka get her things out of the cab?" Kami called out behind her.

"Jared?" Maka asked, confused.

"Oh, sorry I didn't mention this through the phone but I got married again." Kami said as a man ran out of the house a baby in his hands.

"Hold Jason for me." He said and handed he baby to Kami.

Kami took him and Jared smiled at Maka before running to the cab grabbing the suit cases and paying the driver.

Maka blinked up at her mother waiting for some sort of explanation.

"What?" Kami asked and then looked at the baby in her arms and then at Maka. "Oh, sorry, this is your little brother, Jason." She said introducing Jason. "He's five months old." Kami said a smile on her face as Jared walked back and set down the bags next to Maka and held out his hand.

"My name's Jared." He said, smiling warmly at her. Maka took a good look at him, he was taller than her by about a foot, so maybe he was about 6^4., his smile was warm and inviting, and it spread to his brown eyes. His other hand went up to run through his jet black hair that was almost as wild as Soul's. Maka could see why her mother had chosen to marry him.

Maka blinked, she felt as if she was intruding… she felt as if she was un-welcomed, which was clearly not the case. But she had thought that she was only going to be greeted by her mother, not by her mother, her half-brother, and her step-father. She felt as if she was going to puke.

"I… um, my name's Maka." She whispered but didn't shake his hand, she knew it was rude but this was a lot to take in.

"Maka." Kami shot her a look of disappointment but Maka shook it off and readjusted her crutches.

"Kami… I'm sorry for intruding. I didn't mean to come here like this. If I had known that you had started a new family, I wouldn't have come at all." She whispered looking down at the ground. "If I could use your phone, I'll be out of here by sunset." Maka managed to say trying to keep a small smile on her face, but she knew she wasn't fooling anybody. "I'm sorry Jared, I didn't mean to interrupt your family life here." She whispered not being able to look at the troubled faces of the two adults before her.

They looked at each other and then at Maka. "Maka-" Kami started but Maka interrupted her.

"I didn't mean to intrude in your new life. I understand, I'm from the past, and I just bring back some horrible memories… just let me use your phone and I swear, I'll have Papa buy me a ticket to go back to Death City while I find somewhere else to live." Maka mumbled, willing for the tears not to drip down her cheeks.

"Maka… you're jumping to conclusions." Jared said, his voice filled with hurt. "I'm offended that you would think so lowly of us. I was actually excited to meet Kami's beloved daughter." He mumbled as his hand went to ruffle Maka's hair.

"There's no need to suck up to me Jared. Please, let me use your phone." Maka whispered.

Kami sighed sadly, shaking her head at Maka, however Jared had somehow seen this coming, if Maka was anything like her mother, he should know what to do.

"Follow me, it's inside." He muttered shoving his hands inside his jean pockets as he walked into the direction of the house.

Maka readjusted her crutch and limped her way to the front door where Jared was waiting for her, Kami close behind, clutching her little boy to her.

Maka kept her head down, she's been through enough already, and this was just a blow beneath the belt from life.

Jared opened the door and motioned for Maka to step inside.

Maka nodded at him quietly and stepped inside of the humble abode.

The lights flicked on and then a bunch of people that Maka had never seen in her life jumped out of nowhere yelling "Surprise."

Maka's eyes widened, not expecting it, making sure that her footing was okay, even though her leg was injured, she went on instinct, her adrenaline pumping as she took her clutch and twirled it around as if it were Soul, her eyes slanting into a glare at the frightened guests as she let out a battle cry. "Who's first?" she growled, her nerves on edge.

"Maka, that's not the way to treat our friends. They all came to celebrate you coming home." Kami told her as she passed Jason to Jared and went to touch Maka's crutch.

"Sorry, I don't take to kindly to surprises, I've been trained to attack when threatened." She mumbled, putting her crutch down and leaning against it as she winced at the pain that was shooting up her leg, she may have relaxed, but she wasn't letting her guard down, something about Jared bothered her, but she didn't pay much attention to it now. "Kami, may I use your phone?" Maka asked as the guests began to mumble to each other.

Kami sighed. "Don't call me that, I'm your mother." She whispered.

Maka looked over at her. "You disowned me Kami…" she whispered shaking her head lightly.

"I had to-" Kami started but Maka interrupted her again.

"You left me with Papa, you know how much I hated him." She whispered. "Please… the phone." She whispered.

"Maka, don't talk that way to your mother. Kami has always talked about you, she loves you Maka… but you are being rude." Jared said from behind her disappointment ringing in his voice.

Maka's hold on her crutch tightened and her back stiffened, but she ignored him, she had so much to tell her mom. "You stopped writing me letters. You never called. You never sent for me so that I could visit you."

"Maka, stop it." Jared growled.

"She never told me about you, she never told me about the baby. You don't know the pain I am right now." She snapped, turning to glare at him.

The baby started to wail and the guests hushed, staring in shock at the scene that was unfolding before them.

"We have to talk." He growled, handing Jason over to Kami and motioning for Maka to follow him to the hallway.

But Maka was stubborn, she refused to move.

"You are just like your mother." He grumbled grabbing Maka and throwing her over his shoulder.

"Let go of me! I don't even know you! You have no right to do this." Maka yelled, her instincts kicking in as she flipped out of his hold and landed on her good foot, making sure that her bad foot didn't touch the ground. Picking up the crutch that had fallen on the ground, she twirled it like she did before, ready to use it as self-defense. "One thing is to yell at me, but when people touch me, that's when people get hurt." She growled, a glare settling.

"I don't hit girls." He growled his fist clenching and unclenching as he tried not to lose control.

Maka shook her head, this was just getting fun! Since she couldn't run to him, she twirled her crutch up in the air and cartwheeled to him so that she was closer to him as she caught her crutch and swung for his ribs.

His hand shot out and grabbed onto her clutch and tried to rip it away from her, but she held on.

Jared's hold on the clutch tightened as he swung it around his body, Maka following close since she refused to let go of it and she crashed into the nearby wall.

Jared let go of the clutch in surprise as he heard the room fill with gasps. Kami let out a small whimper.

Jared took a few steps away, he lost control of himself for one second and this happens.

The whole room slipped into a shocked silence when they heard a small chuckle escape from Maka, it soon turned into a full out laugh. "Thanks, I needed that." Maka said as her laughing died down and she was able to breath again. She got a good grip of her clutch and pulled herself up.

"Huh?" he asked.

"I needed my ass kicked for a while now." Maka said as she hobbled over to him, a genuine smile on her face as she limped over to him.

"We got off on the wrong foot, how's about we try this again." She said chuckling as she extended her hand to him. "My name is Maka." She said.

Jared looked down at the hand that Maka was offering. He looked at Kami and he saw that she was just as confused as he was. "My name is Jared." He whispered as he hesitantly shook her hand.

"Now, do you mind introducing everyone to me?" Maka asked as she waved apologetically to the shocked crowd.

"Umm… sure…" he mumbled as he realized how wrong he was… Maka was nothing like her mother.

Before Jared even got the chance to walk her to the guests a buff tall man that resembled Jared in every way just looking a bit older walked up to her and hugged her to him. "It's always good to welcome new family members." He grumbled, his voice unbelievably deep.

"Um…" was all Maka was able to say.

"I'm your grandpa now, but I'd prefer you call me pops." He said as he backed away from the hug, but kept his arms on her shoulders. "Welcome to the family." He said smiling down warmly at her. "I know it's a bit too soon, but I would love it if you join the family business." He said.

Jared smacked his father's arm, a slight glare. "I'd rather she not." He said through clenched teeth.

"It's her choice Jared, plus, I've seen her in action now, she's perfect!" Pops exclaimed, letting go of her shoulders as music started to play in the background.

"What are you guys talking about?" Maka asked. "What exactly is your family business?" she asked them. Maka couldn't help the shiver of fear that ran down her spine… there was something wrong with Jared and Pops, she could feel it.

Jared glared at his dad and motioned for Maka to follow him. "We'll talk about this in my office." He mumbled as he led them to a nearby room.

Closing the door behind them Jared went to sit behind his desk. "Have a seat you guys. Thanks to you dad, we might just scare Maka off." Jared growled.

Pops smirked. "I don't think she will be scared off that easily." Pops insited as he pulled out Maka's chair and gestured for her to sit.

Maka slowly hobbled over and sat down as Pops pushed her chair in and went to sit next to her.

Taking in a deep breath, Jared looked at Maka. "Maka, I just want you to know that your mother has no idea about all of this." Jared mumbled.

Immediately Maka's nerves were on edge as her hold on her crutch tightened, her knuckles turning a deathly white.

Pops noticed this with an amused chuckle. "This is going to be a lot more interesting than I thought it would." He muttered sitting back in his chair, relaxing as he pulled out a cigar from his pocket and a lighter from the other and lit it, putting the lighter back in place and letting out a puff of smoke from the other side of his lips.

"What is going on here?" Maka exclaimed.

"Maka, what I'm about to tell you is not leaving this room, no one can know, not even your mother." He whispered as he took in a deep breath and rolled up his sleeve until rested on his shoulder. Maka saw a tattoo on his arm in the shape of a star… come to think of it, it looked a lot like Black*Stars.

"Have you ever heard of the Star Clan?" Jared asked her.

_**A/N:I know that fighting scene between Maka and Jared was kinda weird but my brain works in strange ways XD anyways, we'll be concentrating on Maka's point of view for a while now, so we won't be seeing much of Soul for a few chapters…**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Music I listened too:**_

_**#1: Still Frame- Trapt**_

_**#2: Disturbia- Rihanna**_

_**#3: You're Going Down- Sick Puppies**_

_**#4: Comatose- Skillet**_

_**#5: Mirror- Lil Wayne ft. Bruno Mars**_

_**#6: For You- Staind**_

_**#7: Call Me When You're Sober- Evanescence**_

_**#8: On My Own- Three Days Grace**_

"S-Star Clan?" Maka stuttered and hated it; she was trained for this type of situation, she wasn't supposed to stutter, yet she did… what was it about these two guys that made her nervous? Was it the tough look that they shared? Or maybe it was the warm smiles that she had never been able to get used to…

She had to remind herself that the Star Clan was known for their murders. They killed for money, for power… She could already imagine how dark their souls could be, a deep red and black color emitting from them.

Jared opened up his mouth but he didn't get the chance to talk because smoke was blown in his face from Pops. He sighed and sat back , pushing down his sleeve so that it covered his tattoo and letting his hands rest behind his head as if he were relaxing, but Maka knew better.

Jared was on edge, she could tell by the way his jaw clenched and unclenched with every passing second. "Fine you want to explain this to her?" he grumbled.

"I'd do it with pleasure." Pops said smirking as he took another drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke in the air, earning a small cough from Maka. "Now, the Star Clan is a clan of pride, one in which family always come first. We don't take betrayal to kindly around here… just so you know." Pops said sending Maka some sort of warning with his eyes.

"I'm the leader of the Clan-" he started but smirked when Maka raised her hand, her eyes full of wonder and shock. "What is it that's bothering you child?" he asked, the smirk never leaving his face.

"Um… sorry, but… I thought the DWMA had killed off the Star Clan." She mumbled trying not to set him off, she kept Black*Star a secret though, if they knew he was alive or not was not her problem… and she wasn't about to drag her child hood friend into this.

Pops blinked at her as he took a hold of his cigarette in between two fingers and then let out a booming laugh that made Maka flinch as it echoed across the four walls of the room and bounced back at them, but it didn't seem to effect Jared, he just sat there waiting to jump in when he had to.

"We are gods! They cannot kill us off! No one can!" he said as his dies began to die down. "They may have taken down my brother's part of the clan, but they didn't even know my part of the clan existed. We keep a low profile… and we aren't as evil as my brother's clan. They did everything for money and power… we do it to protect the pride of our family and our friends. Whoever messes with us is going down… sadly, a lot of people seem to be interested in seeing us in pain…" he trailed off shaking his head in disappointment. "Maybe I'll give you a mission one of these days." Pops said with a genuine smile.

"If she agrees in being part of the clan." Jared said through clenched teeth.

Pops sighed and rolled his eyes. "Why do you have to be such a bum on a log? You used to be so much fun!" he mumbled as he put the cigarette back to his mouth and took a long drag before puffing the smoke in his son's direction again.

"That was unnecessary." He grumbled swatting his hand at the smoke. "I used to be, until you suggested on putting Kami's daughter into the clan." Jared mumbled and looked at Maka. "Maka, you have to be warned, once you are in… you're in for good. If you ever betray us, you have to die, although it hurts us it has to happen. Maka… think about this, you don't have to join as long as you keep this a secret…" Jared started to list off warnings but Maka wasn't paying all that much attention…

She needed something to distract her from the pain of her heart… she was never much of a writer, she sucked at drawing, the only sport she was good at was fighting… if that even was a sport…

Scratching the back of her neck, she seemed to take this opportunity as some sort of calling. "I'm in." she said before she could think about any longer.

Jared froze. "Think about this Maka." He said his hands clenching. "Don't rush into things Maka." He kept warning her.

Pops smirked as he dropped the cigarette in the ash bowl that was on Jared's desk. "Jared, it's her life, not yours. She could do whatever she wants with it. Isn't that right Maka?" Pops asked a smile on his face as he reached over to ruffle her hair.

Maka nodded, but there were butterflies in her stomach… was this really a good choice?

Jared sighed. "Fine then. We'll go get your tattoo tomorrow. Normally you'd be born with it but since you aren't actually a member of the family, we'll have to draw it on you." He mumbled shaking his head.

"Maka… please, back out of this." He pleaded. "There's a reason that I haven't told your mother about this." He said.

"Jared, shut it. Let the girl have her fun. Come on, let's go enjoy the party." Pops said placing a hand on Maka's shoulder as he stood up and offered to help her up too but Maka was looking at Jared.

"Why haven't you told my mother about this?' she asked him refusing to stand up at the moment.

"Your mother would have never gotten together with me if she knew the risks that came along with me… if I ever messed up and the clan ended up suffering for my mistakes… my head will roll… and so will my family's…" he whispered looking into her eyes. "I do not want that to be your future Maka. I want you to grow up, find a boy you like, get married have a family… a happily ever after Maka… this isn't a onetime thing, once you're in… you're in." he whispered.

Maka frowned shaking her head. "Oh Jared… I'm not a little girl anymore; I already know happy endings don't exist, never have and never will… I've never had a real family, what with Mama and Papa always fighting, my friends are miles away, the only way I could communicate with them is by sending them letters or calling them… I have nothing to lose Jared. I'm saying it one last time… I'm in." Maka insisted, she didn't know if it was her stubbornness that insisted she had to be in the clan or the fact that there was the possibility that she could finally have an actual family.

"That's my granddaughter!" Pops exclaimed pulling Maka up to her good foot and hugging her to him.

Maka's heart swelled, she felt as if she had found her place in the world, she felt as if she was needed… she felt loved. She finally has found herself the family that she had always wanted since she was little.

Maka hugged Pops back, but not before seeing the look of shock that Jared had spelled out in his face… this girl in front of him had no faith in herself… she actually thought she had nothing to lose… she was wrong, she could lose the friends that she had back at Death City, her father… Kami will be gone too, he wasn't so sure about Jason… or himself. Worst case scenario, he would be forced to take her life.

"Come on; let's go introduce you to the rest of the family." Pops said pulling Maka towards the door.

"Pa…" Jared called out.

Pops turned back to look at him. "Yeah?"

"I'll only agree to this if you let me be her partner." Jared said.

Pop's blinked and turned all of his attention to him, his jaw slacking. "You out of all people want to be her partner? What ever happened to working alone?" he asked.

"I'm her step-father Pa, I don't want to see her hurt." Jared growled and then his glare softened when he looked at Maka. "You know how to handle a scythe right?" he asked her.

"What kind of question is that?" she asked him.

Jared smirked. "Throw something at me." He said.

Maka shrugged and readjusted her crutch, limping her way to the other side of the room where she grabbed a hold of a vase. "This good?" she asked him.

He nodded.

Maka tested the weight of it, it wasn't too heavy but it'll do. Pulling her good arm back, she swung it forward the vase flying in his direction with force.

There was a blinding glow in the room and then silence.

Maka blinked and saw that a blade had cut the vase into two before it hit his face and as soon as the blade appeared it disappeared.

"Nice reflexes." She mumbled. The guy was a scythe, great just great. This was how she was supposed to forget about Soul?

"Jared, are you sure? One thing is to be there for her at her practices, this is a whole other thing entirely." Pops said.

"I'm positive." He said.

"Well, Maka, seems like you have a partner." Pops said. "Well, it seems like you two need to talk, I'll be outside if you need me." Pops said leaving and closing the door gently behind him.

"You're going to regret joining us one day Maka. I warned you." Jared said, scolding at her.

"I've been through enough Jared. I need a distraction and this seems to be the only thing I'm good at." She mumbled as she hobbled over to her seat and sat down.

"I've been meaning to ask you." He said getting her attention.

"Hm?" she asked him.

"What happened to your cheek?" he asked her.

Maka flinched. "I'd rather not talk about it." She mumbled looking down at her feet, her good hand clutching at her clutch.

"Maka, you do realize that you're part of the family now… whoever did that to you is going to pay, whether you want them to pay or not." Jared said sitting down in his chair.

"To tell you the truth… I don't really remember exactly how I got this scar." She mumbled her hand going up to graze it and Soul's face appeared behind her eye lids as she closed her eyes. The look of pain and shock, betrayal and anger… sadness that he had when she yelled at him, telling him that she no longer wanted him… it had all been a lie… she had to hurt him.

Tears escaped Maka's eyes as she bit down on her lips to keep a sob back, but she failed.

"Maka… you could talk to me." He whispered, his hand reaching across the desk to grab onto hers.

Maka looked up at him, more tears pouring out of her as she told him everything, she told him about Soul, and she told him about her friends, about the DWMA, about Blair's threats.

Jared sat there and listened to her, nodding when he needed to nod and shaking his head when he was meant to.

"Maka." He whispered when she was finished, but she didn't look up. "Maka, look at me." He said.

Maka wiped away the tears that appeared and looked up at him, her eyes red from her crying.

"Maka… when you tell us that you're ready, we'll go to Death city and take care of that little problem of yours… but for now, let's forget about the problems of our lives and introduce you to the rest of our friends and family." He said a small smile on his face as he walked around his desk, and went to open the door for her.

Maka smiled a small smile and wobbled out of his office. "Welcome to the family." He whispered as she passed him.

She smiled up at him, a genuine smile that reached her eyes… she was a part of an actual family… it's about time.


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: I was too excited to upload this part of the story that I forgot what songs I listened too! XD**_

Pops probably didn't notice but Maka was not really welcomed into the family by all the other members. They looked down at her with frowns as if she wasn't worthy; she wasn't even part of the family and Pops let her join just like that?

Maka shook her head as she felt sadness claw at her, so much for a family.

Jared bit down on his bottom lip and went to comfort his new daughter, glaring in the direction of the snickering members. "You okay Maka?" he asked, trying to make his voice comforting.

"Oh, I'm, fine. Thanks." She mumbled letting out a small yawn. "Can I go to sleep early?" she asked him.

Jared looked down at her and shook his head and motioned her to follow him to a table and pulled out a chair for her to sit down then went to sit next to her. "Maka, I forgot to tell you about the acceptance ritual… every member of the clan went through it when they were kids… but you just got accepted given the fact that you have to have that crutch to walk around. I think that's why the members don't like you too much." Jared said.

"What's the acceptance ritual?" Maka asked him.

Jared looked at her. "Why do you want to know?" he asked her.

"Just wondering." She mumbled looking around the room to see that people were starting to leave.

"You have to take on one of the elders for about five minutes and if you remain unharmed by them for those five minutes you're in… Maka, you can't really do that right now."

But Maka wasn't listening to him, with the look of determination she searched the room for Pops and found him talking with Kami.

Getting up, Maka readjusted her crutch but stopped when Jared gave her a glare. "Maka, as your weapon and partner, I think you shouldn't do this." He said.

"And I appreciate it… but I'm still gonna do it." Maka said hobbling over in Pops direction with Jared close behind.

"Sorry to bother you Pops but can I talk to you?" Maka asked him tugging on his sleeve and sending a small smile to Kami.

"Anything for my granddaughter." Pops said ruffling Maka's hair and excused himself as he followed Maka and Jared to the other side of the room.

Maka turned to face Pops. "I want to do the acceptance ritual." Maka said, head held high.

Pops smiled at her. "I'm sorry Maka, but you are not ready for that." Pops said and Jared sighed in relief glad that he and his dad agree on something.

"Why am I not ready?" she asked him.

"Because you are injured." Pops said with a small shrug.

"That's it? I've had to battle in worse conditions than this, I can handle anything you throw at me." Maka said trying not to show the anger that is slowly starting to build up inside of her.

"Maka, I'm not going to let you do this." Jared said through clenched teeth. "You'll end up more hurt than you are now." He said.

"It's not fair that I got to join the family without the ritual and the others had too… I'm doing this Jared." Maka told him and then looked up at Pops. "Please, it's only five minutes anyways." she asked.

Pops looked down at her and sighed. "Fine, you'll battle me at midnight at my house, have Jared take you." Pops said folding his arms in front of him while Jared threw daggers at his back with his eyes.

"Don't take it easy on me though." Maka insisted.

"I'll try to keep that in mind. Well if you excuse me, I should take my leave." Pops said giving a small bow in Maka's direction and patted Jared's shoulder. "You better take her there on time." Pops said and with that walked out the door, a lot of people following his example, knowing that they should be getting ready to see the fight between the crippled girl and the head of the clan.

"Maka, why?" Jared asked her.

"Because… I want a family that loves me… not one that hates my guts." Maka said making him flinch.

Jared nodded. "Fine, go get ready, you got thirty minutes, I'm going to tell everyone to go home so that Kami and Jason could go to sleep." He mumbled as he pointed to the door that had her suit case in front of it.

Maka nodded, excitement bubbling inside of her as she hurriedly made her way to her new room and managed to pull her suitcase inside, closing the door behind her.

Maka looked down at her leg, before she left Naigus had said that she should be fine by now, but told her not to push it, her arm was just about fine, it was obvious that she was going to rely on her right hand more than her left but still.

Standing up, she tested her walking without the crutch and to her excitement, it didn't hurt all that much.

Smiling to herself she changed into her old uniform and fixing her pony tails. Checking her watch she saw that she had about twenty minutes to practice.

-_**Page break-**_

Soul walked into the Death Room to see that Lord Death had been waiting for him, flashing him a peace sign. "What are you doing here Soul?" he asked him.

Soul pulled his hands out of his pockets. "I was wondering if I could be tutored to be my own weapon. I don't want a meister." Soul said.

"Are you sure? You will have to be changed to new classes… in fact I think that one of our death weapons has formed a small school to teach weapons how to handle themselves… but that is far away from here… are you sure you still want to learn how to do this?" Lord Death asked him.

Soul nodded. "I'm positive." Soul said.

"Very well then, I shall talk with Justin tomorrow, I'll call for you when everything is ready for you." Lord Death said.

Soul took this as a hint and nodded before turning to leave.

He wasn't going to have another meister… only one person could wield him as a weapon, and that person is Maka. No one else.

He didn't care if she moved on, he shall stay loyal to her… he'll be waiting…

_**A/N: Well, schools starting for me so don't be surprised if I suddenly stop updating any of my stories, I'll update them sooner or later. X( I hate school so much right now!**_


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Songs I listened too:

#1: Make Me Wanna Die- The Pretty Reckless

#2: Remember The Name- Fort Minor

#3: I Hate Everything About You- Three Days Grace.

Soul slouched into his usual form when he closed the Death Room's doors behind him and shoved his hands into his pocket as he started to walk to the exit.

Why was he feeling so down, he should have been happy that he got Death to agree with him on something… oh yeah… because of Maka. Why was he acting like this? He didn't really love her right? It was just because she had told him her feelings that he felt guilty, yeah that's it, he was feeling pity over her…

Soul let out a sigh as he walked out of the school and over to the apartment, thinking about everything that had happened, the note, the book shelf… her scar. A shiver ran through him as he opened the door of his apartment and slammed it closed behind him.

"Soul! You're home!" he heard Blair call out as she threw herself at him.

Soul stumbled back before regaining his footing and throwing her off of him with his good hand. "This is all your fault!" he yelled at her.

Blair winced as she hit the ground and looked up at him. "What are you talking about?" she asked but she already knew what he was going to say.

"What did you do to Maka to make her leave? What did you tell her?" he exclaimed, raging, his face turning a deep color of crimson as he took a step towards a trembling Blair.

"Soul, she left because she was a coward, I didn't do anything." Blair hissed at him.

"Bull shit!" Soul exclaimed stomping over towards the kitchen table and flipping it with his good hand, the dishes that were on it falling to the ground and shattering. It Blair hadn't rolled out of the way, she would have been smooshed by it.

"Soul!" she exclaimed cowering to a corner of the kitchen.

"No! I don't want to hear a fucking word you say. I told you not to come back! I warned you! Get the fuck out before I kill you!" Soul yelled out, he was dying inside with every second that passed when Maka wasn't there… why had he always lied to himself? He was deeply in love with Maka… and all it took for him to notice was her leaving.

Blair's eyes widened in fear as she saw Souls good arm transform into a blade. Blair let out a screech jumped to her feet, running out the door.

Soul didn't look away from the spot where Blair was as the blade turned back into his arm. With a sigh he went to pick up the mess he made and when he was finished he sulked over to his room but stopped when he passed by Maka's door.

His heart beat sadly as his hand found its way to the door knob, turning it slowly and then gently pushing open the door.

Stepping inside and closing it gently behind him, he walked over to the bed and sat down on it. He looked around the room… it was empty, only her desk was left a few hangers hung in her closet, there were no covers on the bed, just her pillow. Soul had a slight frown on his face as he remembered what she said. _"I guess it does have something to do with noise…" _she had said.

Soul shook his head, he was an idiot… if only he hadn't fallen into Blair's temptation… if only he would have kicked Blair out sooner… if only he had pushed Maka out of the way and not vice-versa… if only…

Soul took in a deep breath and began to remember the times when he and Maka were alone. The time when she had forced him to stay in bed because he had gotten a fever, she had given him a kiss on the forehead and he had blushed. The time when he had caught her singing in front of her mirror and he had teased her to the point where she had given him ten Maka-Chops.

A hand went to his head as he remembered that… he was starting to miss those things.

Sighing Soul fell back onto Maka's pillow and there was a loud smack. Sitting up, he lifted the pillow to see a small picture frame. Soul grabbed it and looked down at it… it was a picture of Maka and him.

He was leaning against the wall, his hands were shoved in his leather jacket, in his usual slouched position while Maka stood next to him, her arm over his shoulder hugging him to her as she too leaned back against the wall, flashing a peace sign and a toothy grin to the camera as her head rested on his shoulder. Soul wasn't looking at the camera like Maka was though… he was looking at her with a look in his eyes that said… that said… that he cared…

"I'm a fucking idiot!" he growled to himself as he fell back on Maka's bed.

Jared knocked on Maka's door. "Come on, we're already late Maka." Jared whispered loudly.

Grabbing her crutch, Maka hobbled over to the door and opened it. "Thanks Jared." She said a genuine smile spreading across her face as she hobbled past him and to the door.

Jared opened it for her and let her walk past him as he closed the door, locking it and walking to the house next door. "This is Pop's house."

Maka felt her heartbeat speed up as she hobbled behind him as quickly as she could without tripping over her feet.

Jared waited for Maka to stand next to him before knocking on the door.

"You're late." Maka heard someone say from the other side of the door… but it didn't sound like Pops though.

"Sorry Carlo, but I had to put the family to sleep before I got here. Open up." Jared said, he didn't agree with what was going to happen… he might have been second in charge, but Pops was ahead of him by a long shot… he had no control of what was about to happen.

The guy named Carlo opened the door a revealed himself. "You could have called Cuz." Carlo told Jared a small frown on his face as he stepped out of the way so that they could come inside.

"Yeah, sorry." Jared mumbled as he walked past him but Maka stayed behind to take a good look of this Carlo guy.

He had big green eyes… but they yelled out 'Danger'. His lips were in a thin line of anger, his hair was messy and a deep red color. He had a muscular build.

"You must be the challenger… You couldn't wait until you weren't in a cast?" he asked her, looking down at her with wonder in his deadly eyes.

Maka stood her ground and let out a small chuckle as she reached up to pet his hair. "With the right mind set… anything is possible." She said and with that turned to follow Jared to where ever he went to.

Carlo was left to look after her with shock. No one had ever patted his hair before… no one had ever spoken that way to him… and they usually ran away from him, scared… what was different about this one?

Maka stopped right behind Jared to see that they were in a huge back yard. Torches were lit in a circle and at every torch there was one person standing next to it… and right in the middle of the circle stood Pops with a demonic smile on his face.

"Welcome to your doom Maka." He called out smirking.


	11. Chapter 11

_**(A/N: I'm skipping the song thing for a few chapters; I'm on a roll right now XD)**_

Maka took a step towards the circle, dropping her crutch and trying to keep any look of pain from her face as she nodded at Pops.

As she stepped closer she saw that the people that formed the circle had gotten a hold of their torches and started to move closer to her.

"To be able to fight our leader you have to prove that you are worthy… We have one question for you." One of them said as they took one step in our direction.

Maka took in his appearance, he was wearing ripped jeans and a shirt that fit loosely on him, untucked, his build was lean. His hair was a deep orange and his eyes a daring blue, his smile held a demonic twist to it as he smirked down at Maka, taking a step towards her and looking down at her, trying to intimidate her.

"We can count on you when we need to, am I correct?" he asked her, bending his knees so that he was at her eye level, looking deep into her eyes so that he could tell if she was lying, this talent was one of the reasons that he was fourth in command after all.

Maka looked him in the eye and a small smile lit her face. "I think its best that you know the reason I'm doing this." She said as she looked behind him to motion everyone to take a step closer.

They looked at each other and murmuring to one another they walked over so that they stood behind the man that was looking at Maka, confusion clouding his eyes.

"I am the daughter of a meister and her scythe… the scythe wasn't faithful and this drove my family apart… my mother Kami had had enough… and she got a divorce leaving me behind with my father Spirit…

"My life was hell, I loved my father, but I will never forgive him for tearing apart what was most important to me. But then I met Soul, he used to be my partner, my scythe…" Maka took in a deep breath… she didn't have to do this… but then again, she had too. "He broke my heart… but I saved his life." She whispered her good hand going up to caress the scar that was on her cheek… the scar that made it look like she was smiling a deliciously evil twisted smile.

"After that, his life was threatened… I had to leave him… so I came in look for the comfort of my mother… only to find that she had moved on, she had made a family, I felt unloved, uncared for… and I hated it." Maka managed to say without her voice trembling.

Jared looked at her and gave her shoulder a squeeze with his hand.

"But… then I found out that I had a chance… a chance of having a family and I was over joyed… so over joyed in fact that I'm willing to do whatever it takes to not let any of you down… if you guys had to go through this in order to be a part of this family, than so will I, not matter how hurt I am." Maka growled. "Now, I don't mean to be rude but please step aside…"

The guy with the daring blue eyes softened a bit as his grin turned into a soft smile, he nodded at her and grabbed her hand, handing her his torch. "You have my permission to go ahead." He whispered as the others turned to set the torches right back down where they had gotten them from forming the small circle again and stepping away from it.

Maka saw this and confusion raced through her.

Pops smirked at her. "Well what are you waiting for?" he asked her with a small chuckle.

Maka looked at the man in front of her and he motioned her to go ahead with a small nod and stepped back to where everyone else was silently watching.

Maka looked back to ask Jared what was going on but he wasn't there, with a shrug she walked forward, trying her best to disguise her limp.

"I thought you couldn't walk without your crutch." Pops said his brow rising in suspicion.

Maka looked up at him a small smirk on her face as she shrugged. "That thing was making feel useless and I need to stay positive… that's the only way that I've been able to survive this long…" Maka said her head up with pride as she moved closer to the circle, gripping the torch in her good hand which was starting to sweat from nervousness.

Stepping into the circle of torches, Maka stabbed the torch down into the ground, completing the circle and then turned back to Pops, walking towards him.

"Are you sure you want to do this Maka? This is your last chance to back out." Pops warned once Maka was standing in front of him.

"I'm not going to back out Pops, once I have my mind set on something… I… I'm not backing out." Maka murmured as she looked up at Pops.

Pops sighed and ruffled her hair. "Alright then, I don't know what Jared told you about this but I'm setting down the ground rules. Rule number one, if either one of us so much as touch one of the torches or are pushed out of the circle, the fight is over and the winner would be the one that is still in the circle.

"Rule number two, no fighting dirty which means no hair pulling, no hits below the belt and I'll try not to damage your already damaged areas.

"Rule number three… this was originally supposed to be a five minute fight but because you are injured it shall be three minutes." Pops insisted.

Maka frowned and shook her head. "No, I insist it to be five minutes." She said through clenched teeth.

"Why? You're injured." Pops said.

"It's not fair to the others, they had to do a five minute fight, I need to make it fair." Maka insisted.

"The decision is already made Maka. You can't do anything about it." Pops said calmly.

Maka glared up at him. "I don't want any special treatment Pops." Maka grumbled.

Pops frowned down at her. "It's not special treatment Maka, it's taking necessary precautions."

"It's the same thing Pops, five minutes and no holding back." Maka growled.

"We'll see what happens." Pops said as he motioned for someone behind Maka to walk over.

Maka looked behind her to see Jared walking inside the circle, careful not to touch the torches as their flames flickered light against the darkness that was the night.

"Jared here is going to be your weapon for this fight. I have no use for a weapon there for I don't need one." Pops said.

"I don't need a weapon either." Maka insisted.

"Don't worry Maka they got to use weapons of their own also." Pops said rolling his eyes as Jared walked up to them. "Plus, he is your weapon and you guys have to have your backs."

Maka flinched and looked down at the ground trying to keep her mind off of Soul, she shouldn't be remembering him in a time like this… she needed to stay focused.

"Well Maka… lets do this." Jared said his arm transforming into a blade and soon enough his body turned into a scythe that was being twirled around in Maka's hands.

"Let's do this." Maka repeated silently trying not to wince at the pain that was shooting up her legs and arms.


	12. Chapter 12

Maka's grip tightened around the scythes handle as she took a few steps forward so that she was looking up at Pops. "Don't hold back..." Maka told him.

"No promises." Pops said take a few steps back and getting into a fighting stance.

"Because I won't." Maka finished, her blood pumping through her veins at an alarming rate, her eyes shutting closed as she concentrated on forgetting the pain that was racking through her… and she let her control slip out of her hands.

Her breathing stopping all together her eyes snapped open as out of her, an unearthly scream shattered the silence that was surrounding them.

Running towards Pops she jumped onto his shoulders and forced them onto the ground, her instincts were taking over, in her eyes, Pops was the enemy… and he needed to be eliminated.

A shiver ran through Pops as he looked up into Maka's eyes and saw that there was no reasoning in there… all he could see could only be expressed with one word… wild…

Maka bared her teeth at him, raising the scythe in an attempt to sever his head but Pops kicked her off sending her flying to the other side of the circle.

He stood up and smiled, it's been a while since he was truly challenged. Cracking his neck he watched Maka stand up and twirl the scythe in her hands, her teeth bared as she crouched, her good foot behind her and her back arched forward as yet another menacing snarl erupted from her throat.

Pops ran in her direction and slid once he was close enough taking her feet from underneath her by kicking her legs. He quickly stood up and took her into his arms lifting her above his head and started to twirl her.

Maka snarled at him, grabbing at his wrist and twisting it, making him let go of her and she fell to the ground but took him down with her.

Maka stood up and stumbled back as Pops stood back up a slight glare in his eyes, baring his teeth at her like she did to him.

Pops ran at her and tried to kick at her stomach but Maka blocked it with the scythe before letting her scythe drop to the ground and grabbing onto Pops leg and twisting it making him fall face first on the ground.

Maka had no control of her body as it grabbed the scythe that was oddly quiet and brought it above her head before letting it down onto Pops.

The blade would have torn through Pops if it wasn't for the fact that Jared had transformed back into his human from before that happened, landing next to Pops.

"What the hell Maka! You aren't supposed to kill him." He yelled at her.

"I said I didn't need a weapon, I also said that I wasn't going to hold back, you guys were warned." She growled at him her eyes twitching in anger but regained some control of her body.

"Jared, leave the circle, you're interrupting our fight." Pops said as he stood back up.

Jared sighed, both of them were stubborn… he had a feeling that this was going to last more than three minutes.

"I'm going to jump in when I feel it's necessary." He growled, as he ran out of the circle to stand next to the others who were looking at the scene in awe.

"Where were we?" Maka asked as she stood in her fighting stance.

"I believe I was beating you." Pops said as he landed a kick on Maka's stomach sending her flying.

Maka fell to the ground, her breath was blown out of her as she landed dangerously close to the torches.

Maka struggled to breath as she forced herself to stand up and glare in Pops direction.

"No one has ever beaten me before, and I'm not planning on letting that change." She growled as Pops ran towards her and grabbed her shoulders planning on forcing out of the circle.

Maka snarled at him and grabbed onto his wrists, her feet planting on the ground so that he couldn't force her to move, but she was starting to slide a little.

Pops pushed with all his might but the little girl on front of him wouldn't budge.

Maka let out a snarl as she started to lose control of herself again, her eyes going wild as a burst of energy spread through her. Her hands on Pops wrists grew tighter making him wince and she kicked his legs out from underneath him causing him to fall to the ground.

Maka picked him up above her head, her arms starting to ache as she held him there.

Shock hit the audience, Pops was twice the size of Maka and twice her weight… how could she do that? They watched as she threw him out of the circle with an infuriated snarl… Maka had won.

Maka blinked when she felt that she had gotten control of her body again and then let out a cry of agony as it spread throughout her body, she had pushed her injured body to its limits… it was too much, she was starting to see stars as she fell to the ground her jaw slacking.

"Maka!" was the last thing she heard before darkness rose to claim her… but she held a small smile… she had won… she was in the family.

Jared ran over to Maka as the others ran over to Pops. "Maka, come on, get up." he said slapping her cheeks lightly. "Frank! Get over here! Tell me what's wrong with Maka!" he called out looking over his shoulder to see the orange haired man running to him.

The orange haired man looked down at Maka and then sighed in relief rolling his eyes. "Jared you over react too much, she's just passed out. I'm sure she'll wake up later." Frank said patting his cousins hair.

"Do you know how much trouble I'd be in with Kami if Maka ends up hurt?" he growled at Frank.

"Not only that but you're her weapon now, I could imagine how guilty you'll feel if you let her die." Frank said smirking.

"Shut up Frank, you aren't helping." Jared growled.


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N: I have no idea why but most of my OC's names tend to start with the letter J… it's weird XD**_**.**

Soul walked into the cafeteria of his new school, looking around, one hand in his jacket pocket and the other grabbing a hold of the bag that was thrown over his shoulder, in his usual slouched form. The school was small, but that didn't stop the nervous feeling that filled his stomach.

He saw the looks that everyone he passed by shot at him, and it didn't help his nervousness at all. He grabbed his lunch with his free hand and went to sit down in the far end of the cafeteria. It seemed like no one wanted to be with him.

He remembers that one kid that wouldn't stop throwing glares at him because Soul accidently tripped him in class, he had a feeling that something was going to happen but he pushed the feeling away and kept walking.

Setting his bag on the seat next to him, he grabbed the burger that was on his tray and took a bite out of it.

"Hey." He heard someone say, but he brushed it off, thinking that it wasn't meant for him, the person behind him repeated their words, but Soul didn't want to respond… he had a feeling that it will only cause trouble.

The person behind him growled in annoyance and shoved Soul's head forward forcefully causing his head to smash down on the table.

Soul held back a groan of pain as he took in deep breaths and lifted his head to look up at the jerk that just slammed his head on the table.

"Listen to me when I'm talking to you." The guy behind Soul growled. Soul noticed that it was the boy that he had accidently tripped earlier.

"And if I don't want to?" Soul responded standing up to confront the guy a glare settling in his eyes as he took a step towards the guy.

"This'll happen." The guy growled pulling back his fist and connected with Soul's jaw causing his head to snap back.

Soul stumbled into the table behind him, his back slamming down against it.

The whole cafeteria quieted down as their mouths snapped shut and looked in the direction where the animalistic noise came from.

Soul had had enough. His life was tough enough as it was, he wasn't going to let himself be bullied. The animalistic sound that came from Soul still rang across the cafeteria as he stood up straight, his hand going to wipe away the blood that was dribbling down his chin.

There was an intense silence as the bully in front of Soul waited for Soul to make his move a slight frown on his face.

He was the bully of the school, and he hated guys that embarrassed him the way Soul did. His name was Dagger Nelson and he had never lost a fight. School bully with a huge ego… the worst type of bully… and Soul is about to take him down.

Seconds passed by and Dagger's stance began to waver, that's when Soul attacked. Soul's good hand shot up to grab the bully's neck and swing him onto the table that was behind him. "Who the hell do you think you are punching me the way you did?" He snarled as his hand tightened around the neck and pulled the bully up only to slam him back down onto the table.

Soul felt something tug on his collar, hard enough to choke him and let go of Dagger. He was being pulled back, away from the bully. He looked back to see that it was a dude in a priest outfit… wait no it was Justin Law… the principle.

"Mr. Evans and Mr. Nelson, a word in my office." He said as he reached over and grabbed Dagger by the collar with his other hand and dragging the two boys out of the cafeteria and in the direction of the office.

Soul let himself be dragged, unlike Dagger who was thrashing his feet and hands, occasionally hitting Soul's shoulder or stomach on 'accident'.

When they entered Justin's office, he sat both of the boys down and walked around his desk to face them. "Alright what brought this on?" Justin questioned as he leaned back in his chair.

"He tipped me and I had to defend myself." Dagger said with a simple shrug as he folded his hands in front of him.

"I tripped him by accident." Soul corrected.

"And why didn't you guys fight in your weapon forms? At least that way you'd have the excuse of saying that you were practicing." Justin informed them.

Soul blinked at the principle. "Come again?" he asked, was this guy actually giving them advice on how to dodge a trip to the office?

"Never mind, as your punishment… you two are going to be partners whenever you practice." Justin said, fighting to keep a straight face when he saw their jaws drop.

"No, how about I just serve a detention?" Soul asked.

"I'll serve a suspension, I don't mind." Dagger said desperately.

"The point of a punishment is that you get punished… I noticed that you don't really get along so this is your punishment until you learn to get along." Just said, dramatically twisting his chair around so that he was facing the window that was behind him, his back to the two teens. "That is my final decision."

"If you'll excuse me, I'm leaving." Soul mumbled hastily as he shot up and walked out the door, remembering that he left his back pack in the cafeteria.

Just as he was about to enter the cafeteria doors there was a pat on his back. He twirled around to see that it was Dagger. "What do you want?" he spat at him, a glare in his eyes.

"Nothing, I can't wait to practice with you." Dagger said flashing Soul a smile and then walking away, back pack slung over his shoulder.

Soul shot him a look of confusion but then shook it off, walking into the cafeteria to get his back pack.

Looking around he started to see people pointing at him, and laughing.

Confusion shot through him as he tried to remember anything that would cause the people that were in the cafeteria to laugh at him.

That's when he remembered how strange Dagger acted just before he came in. Reaching behind him he grabbed a hold of a piece of paper that was sticking to his back and pulled it off_**. 'Dumb Ass'**_ he read.

Anger tore through him as the paper crumbled between his fingers. Grabbing his back pack, he walked out of the cafeteria, a slight blush on his face as he thought of all the ways he could torture Dagger.

Maka blinked and flinched when she the light hit her face, closing her eyes again. "Ugh… what happened?" she mumbled to herself as she tried to sit up only to be pushed back.

"You fainted, something about pushing your weak body to its limits." She heard someone growl.

Why did that voice sound familiar? Maka opened her eyes and her breathing stopped. "Black*Star?" she whispered in shock. "What are you doing here?"

_**A/N: AllenMoyashiWalker, I'm so sorry for not updating earlier! I had more important things to do, but here is your chapter! X)**_


	14. Chapter 14

"What do you mean, what am I doing here?" Black*Star growled at Maka, a scowl on his face.

"Where am I?" Maka asked him as her hand went up to her forehead; she was starting to get a headache.

"You're in your room, where you were supposed to be instead of going on and getting into a fight with Pops." He growled.

Maka's eyes widened and then she tried to keep her calm as she looked into his eyes. "What are you talking about?" she asked him, trying to act innocent.

"Don't pull that shit on me Maka. You couldn't wait until you were fully healed could you?' he growled at her, pulling over the desk chair and sitting down next to the bed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Black*Star, I have no idea what you are talking about." Maka kept saying, no one is supposed to know about the Star Clan, and it's not possible that Black*Star could know about them.

"I know about the Star Clan Maka." Black*Star growled.

Maka blinked at him, taking back her last thought. "How?" she whispered.

"I've known about them for forever, they're my family Maka, how could I not know?" Black*Star said rolling his eyes at Maka's stupidity.

"But… but everyone thought that they were extinct." Maka whispered.

"Everyone but me. I am a god! They contacted me when I was little Maka. They found out that I was still alive and tried to take me away from Sid, but I told them that I wanted to stay with him… I told them that I made a promise to protect a friend… you remember that don't you Maka?" he asked her a smirk on his face.

Maka shook her head, confused.

Black*Star rolled his eyes. "Do you remember the first time we met?" he asked her.

"Oh yeah… You were ranting on and on about surpassing god, and I was the one that gave in and told you to shut up." Maka said chuckling, lightly shaking her head at the memory, a small smile on her face.

"Then we fought until Sid broke us apart. For the record, I let you beat me." Black*Star said with a huff.

"Sure you did." Maka said.

"Anyways, later on, Sid got angry at me and told me to go say sorry, and then we all went for ice cream that came out of my allowance and you just had to go and buy the most expensive thing on the menu." Black*Star grumbled at her.

"I said I was sorry, I didn't know that it was you paying!" Maka exclaimed, her smile vanishing, after all these years, he still held the grudge against her, leave it to Black*Star to ruin the moment.

Black*Star stuck his tongue out at her childishly and then let out a chuckle. "After that we had our backs for everything… I swore to myself that I would not let my friend get hurt ever, that I was the only one that could bully you around." He said, he was going to say 'with the exception of Soul' but decided not to. "And I was not about to go back on that promise. The Star Clan respected my decision and let me stay with Sid." Black*Star said leaning back, his hands going to rest behind his head as he leaned back in his chair.

"So Sid knew about the Star Clan?" Maka asked him. Sid would have killed them if he had known about them.

"No! Sid would have killed them!" Black*Star exclaimed. "I skipped out on classes just to see them!" Black Star said laughing. "The teachers never knew I was gone."

"No, they knew you were gone, they were just relieved at having a break from all your godliness." Maka said rolling her eyes.

Black*Star huffed at her and ignored her statement. "Anyways, we got off topic. Now, where were we? Oh yeah, I thought you were smart! How stupid can you be? Going on and fighting with Pops." Black*Star said, knocking on her forehead.

Maka slapped his hand away with a growl. "I'm not stupid!" she growled.

"Yes you are! You've been asleep for a whole day! Twenty four hours Maka!" he growled at her.

The door of Maka's room opened and Jared walked in. "So you guys do know each other." He said.

"Shut it Jared, I'm yelling at Maka right now." Black*Star said, looking away from Maka to glare at him. "You are her weapon aren't you? You are supposed to be the one to stop her from doing stupid things!" Black*Star growled at him.

"Don't push this on me, you know very well that Pops is the head of the Star Clan and what he says goes." Jared responded as he went over to stand on the other side of Maka's bed.

Black*Star glared at him but kept quiet, if it was anyone else he was talking to, he would have exploded at them, but this was Jared, the second in command, although Black*Star thought he was a god, he knew his place in the family, and Jared had his respect, he was the one that had called him over to see the new addition to the family.

"So, how do you guys know about each other?" Jared asked changing the subject.

"Do you remember the friend I swore that I would take care of when I was little?" Black*Star asked him.

"The girl you have a crush on?" Jared asked.

Black*Star made a face of disgust. "What? Ew! Naw! Maka is the girl that I swore I'd take care of." Black*Star said. "She's like a little sister to me, no way would I ever have a crush on her." Black*Star said, disgusted at the thought.

"Maka, as in Kami's daughter? That Maka? My Step-Daughter?" Jared asked, pointing at Maka. "What a small world." He mumbled.

"Anyways, what about Tsubaki? Does she know about all of this?" Maka asked Black*Star.

"Nope, she doesn't know anything." Black*Star murmured. He hated keeping secrets from his partner, and he knew just how disappointed she'd be in him if she ever found out, but he was sworn to secrecy, the only people he would be able to tell is his family… and they were gone, he only had the Star Clan. "Why did you want to be in the Star Clan anyways?" he asked her, trying to get off of the topic of Tsubaki.

Maka looked at him and smiled lightly. "Because I wanted a family." She whispered to him, a small smile on her face. "And I finally have one."

Black*Star shook his head at her. "Maka… You already had one. You had me, Tsubaki, Liz, Patti, Kid. We were all there for you if you needed us… and then you bailed on us… Maka, what the hell happened? Why would you move out of death city? It's not like Soul was waking up the whole damn city with his fucking moans!" Black*Star growled.

Maka flinched and looked away.

"Answer me Maka." Black*Star growled at her.

"Stop it Black*Star. You want an answer fine, she was threatened." Jared growled at him.

"Huh? By who? And for what?" he asked him.

Jared walked around the bed and put his hand on Black*Stars shoulder. "A cat named Blair threatened her. She had to leave her weapon in order to save him." Jared explained.

Black*Star looked down at Maka. "Is that true? That bitch is the one that caused all your pain isn't it?" he growled, anger running through his veins. "Don't you worry Maka, I'm going to back out of the mission I'm on for a while and I'm going to beat that bitch to a pulp, I swear." Black*Star growled.

Confusion shot through Maka. "A mission? What's that mission?" she asked him.

Black*Star quieted down and looked away.

"Black*Star, she was going to find out sooner or later." Jared said.

Black*Star sighed. "They killed my family Maka… who ever messes with the Star Clan has to pay." He whispered, he felt anger shoot through him as his hands clenched into fists.

Maka's eyes widened. "No." she mumbled, shaking her head. "No, you can't possibly be thinking… Black*Star, everyone would be so disappointed in you!" Maka exclaimed.

Black*Star glared at her. "The Star clan always comes first… no matter what." He growled.

"I know Black*Star… but taking down the DWMA?" Maka whispered, shaking her head lightly. "How long have you been working on that mission? What exactly are you planning to do?" she whispered.

"Black*Star has been working really hard on this mission, ever since we contacted him, it was one of the only reasons that he has been able to stay with Sid… He's our spy behind enemy lines." Jarred said. "And once you are ready mentally and physically we'll be helping him on that mission. Together the three of us are going to take the DWMA down." Jared said, other than Black*Star, he was the one that took the death of his uncle badly. The DWMA is going down, no matter what it took.

Maka was quiet… "What do you mean by 'mentally'?" she whispered.

"We are going to show you all the damages that the DWMA did to our family, Maka… it doesn't matter that you were once a student, forget about all of that, forget that you were ever there. Maka, you are one of us, not only will you feel our joy… but you will also feel our pain." Jarred said, his expression turning into a sad one as he looked down at her. "This is what I was trying to warn you about Maka… but you didn't listen… You can't go back now." He whispered and turned to walk out of the room, leaving Maka and Black*Star alone.


	15. Chapter 15

Black*Star looked at the door that Jared had walked out of and rolled his eyes. "Don't listen to him Maka, he's being over dramatic like always." Black*Star said standing up and stretching. "Well, I'ma go fill up the tank." He said patting his stomach and was about to walk out the door.

"Hold up Black*Star." Maka exclaimed, reaching out toward him, sitting up on the bed.

"What is it that you want from your god Maka?" he asked, raising his hand dramatically in the air.

Maka rolled her eyes. "Not much… I'm hungry… could you bring me some food?" she asked him.

"What do I look like, your servant?" Black*Star exclaimed shaking his head and walking out of the room.

Maka shook her head and made an attempt at sitting up but pain shot through her body, making her wince and fall back down on to the bed. "Ow." She muttered.

That's when Kami walked in, tears in her eyes, hands trembling, making the tray she was holding wobble. A sweet aroma filled the air, must have been whatever was on the tray.

"What's wrong mom?" Maka asked her.

"Why?" Kami whispered setting down the plate next to her on the bed and sitting down on the desk chair that Black*Star had been sitting in.

"Not you too mom." Maka said slapping her forehead.

"Because of you, I had no choice but to tell her about the Star Clan Maka, she was worried to death." Jared said from the door way, leaning against it.

Maka huffed as she crossed her arms in front of her, making her wince as pain shot up her arms again.

"How's Pops?" Maka asked them.

"Ask him yourself." Pops said smirking as he walked over to stand next to her a huge smile on his face. "Guess we both ended up losing." Pops said letting out a roaring laugh, Maka couldn't help but to smile at him.

Kami glared up at him. "You did this to my daughter!" she exclaimed at him, she was seething.

Pops frowned at her. "Jared control your wife." He said calmly and then slapped a smile on his face again. "Well, today, you are going to get the Star Clan Tattoo, where do you want it?" he asked her.

"No! There is no way my little girl is getting a tattoo!" Kami exclaimed, standing up quickly and baring her teeth at Pops.

"This is a mandatory thing Kami." Pops said.

"Mom… calm down." Maka said.

"No, you don't have children; you don't know what this is like. My little girl is not going to go join a clan. Not if I could help it." Kami said glaring down at her daughter.

"Get out mom, it's too late to do anything." Maka said pointing to the door.

Maka saw hurt flash in Kami's eyes but she didn't see her leave. Kami was stubborn, so she stayed in place.

"Kami." Jared mumbled from the door way.

"I'm not talking to you right now Jared, you let this happen to my baby girl." Kami said.

Jared flinched and looked at the ground. "Kami… Jason is hungry." Jared informed her.

"Go feed him." Kami said stubbornly.

"Kami…" Jared warned.

Biting on her bottom lip, Kami stomped out of the room, pushing her way past Jared and he let himself be pushed into the door.

He stood there for a few seconds before pushing himself away and going to sit down in the chair.

Maka frowned at him. "Jared, don't blame yourself, this is all my fault." Maka said and then turned to Pops. "I want it right here." Maka said, lifting her good hand and pointing at the back of her neck where the hair line started.

"Alright then. Carlo! Get in here!" Pops called out, and Carlo walked in, a big metal box in hand, a devilish smile on his face. "Better not do anything stupid Carlo." Pops warned and then patted Maka's head, and walked out of the room.

"If you mess up Carlo, I will personally kill you, you got that?" Jared growled at Carlo.

Carlo rolled his green eyes at him. "Don't worry Cuz, I got this under control." Carlo said, smirking at him.

Jared glared at him and then sighed. "I need to talk to Frank." He grumbled and with his head down, walked out of the room.

Carlo set the box on the bed and opened it to reveal all sorts of colored ink, and a few needles, and some sort of machine. "You aren't going to survive long." Carlo told Maka without looking at her, concentrating on whatever he was doing with the box.

"Come again?" she asked him.

"In the Star Clan, you aren't going to survive, you aren't going to handle the pressure, I've seen it before." Carlo said grabbing a note book and a pencil and started to draw the tattoo that he was going to draw on Maka.

Maka blinked at him. "Why are you so sure of that?" she asked him.

"Females don't do that well in the Star Clan, they are too sensitive… they are too delicate, they don't like to kill people, they don't like to hurt them… they hate their life in the clan." Carlo said, not taking his eyes away as he drew on the note book.

Maka smiled at him, shaking her head lightly. "I'm not like other girls." She told him.

Carlo stopped drawing on the note pad and glared down at her. "You don't get it do you?" he growled at her.

"What do you mean?" she asked him.

"You're the newbie, everyone is only going to act like they give a shit about you, but in reality we don't give a fuck what happens to you." Carlo growled at her.

Maka blinked up at him and then sat up, ignoring the pain that spread through her body. "Why?" she whispered.

"You're supposed to be bed rest, lay back down." Carlo said coldly as he went back to drawing on the note book.

"No, tell me why you're so cold to me?" she told him.

Carlo looked up at her, a cold glare in his eyes. "No one gives a fuck, back off Maka." He growled as he pulled out his iPod and stuffed the earphones into his ears, blasting the volume and did his best to ignore the girl in front of him as he went back to drawing.

Maka sat there staring down at the boy in front of her… something was wrong with him… she could feel it. She sighed and reached over to grab the tray of food that Kami had brought in and began eating while Carlo finished up whatever he was doing.


	16. Chapter 16

The last few days have been hell for Soul, not only had he found out that Dagger was one of the jocks of the school along with being the bully, but he was now marked as the lone wolf. Soul could care less about that, he already had friends back home, he didn't need other friends, the problem was that Dagger kept getting him into trouble.

"At your old school, did you keep getting into this sort of trouble?" Mr. Law asked as he filled out Soul's detention papers with a frown.

"No." Soul grumbled looking down at his clasped hands that were set on his lap.

"Then why are you getting into trouble here?" Mr. Law asked him, putting down the paper work and looking at Soul. "You've only been here a week, and I haven't seen you once turn into your weapon form." Mr. Law said, disappointment filling his voice.

Soul stayed quiet.

"If this keeps up, I'll have to send you back to your old school." Mr. Law said, shaking his head.

Soul's head snapped up. "No… I have to stay here."

Mr. Law blinked at him and then a smiled appeared. "You know… The reason Dagger hates you so much is because he hasn't beaten you in weapon to weapon combat…" Mr. Law said to himself as he sat back in his chair. A few seconds later a smile erupted on his face. "I got it!" He said, standing up quickly, his hands slapping down on the desk, causing Soul to jump out of his seat from the sudden action and lose his balance tipping to the side and falling to the ground landing on his side.

"Ow." Soul mumbled to himself sitting up.

Mr. Law peered over the desk to smile down at Soul. "As your punishment, you have to battle with Dagger Nelson."

"Me? Why?" Soul exclaimed, outraged.

"No one has ever beaten him before, plus, he's the one always getting you into trouble." Mr. Law said crossing his arms in front of his chest, his smile growing even larger as the seconds ticked by. "That boy needs someone to shoot him down; he's getting way too cocky for his own good." Mr. Law said shrugging.

Soul blinked up at him. "What kind of principle are you?" he asked.

Mr. Law's smile vanished as he glared down at Soul. "Mr. Evans, I'm your principle and you shall respect me." He growled.

Soul shot up and dusted himself as he nodded at his principle. "Alright, when is this battle going to be?" he asked sitting back down in his chair.

Mr. Law sat back down and smirked at him. "Today, in fact let me call him down and gather the whole school in the gym." He said, reaching for his phone.

"Wait, what? Right now? And in front of the whole school? I have never fought alone!" Soul said, going into complete panic mode.

Mr. Law smirked at him again. "Soul, it'll give you that much inspiration to beat him. You have to, and to give you more inspiration… if you don't beat him, you will be expelled, it's only been a week and already, you have been in here way too many times. You have to put a stop to that, and make him respect you. Soul… this is your chance to redeem yourself." Mr. Law said reaching over the desk and patting Soul's head before grabbing his phone and dialing the classroom where Dagger was studying and called him down to the office.

Soul just sat there, shocked, and let his head hit the desk in front of him with a loud smack.

A few minutes later there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Mr. Law said standing up.

Dagger walked in with his usual cocky smile but it vanished when he saw Soul sitting there. "What did he drag me into this time?" Dagger groaned as he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"You two will have a battle in the gym in front of the whole school in five minutes." Mr. Law said and grabbed a microphone from his desk. "Attention all staff and students, please file into the gymnasium, there will be a battle between Soul Evans and Dagger Nelson." Mr. Law announced, his voice ringing though the hallways and class rooms. "Now you two. Tell each other what weapons you are and I'll meet you there." Mr. Law said as he set down the microphone and walked out of the room, leaving behind the two teens.

Soul stood up with a sigh.

Dagger smirked at him. "You're going down." He said chuckling.

"What weapon are you?" he asked Dagger, ignoring his comment.

"A Chinese Nest of Bees and an Aztec Macuahuitl." Dagger said smirking.

"Wait, those are two weapons… and what the heck are they?" Soul asked.

"Of course, that's how awesome I am, two in one, and don't worry, you'll see what they are." Dagger said. "What about you?" he asked him.

"A scythe." Soul said, his head held high, that is until Dagger let out a laugh. "What?" he asked.

"This is going to be easy!" Dagger said laughing as he walked out the door, his head thrown back, tears in his eyes because of how hard he was laughing.

Soul frowned at the door as it closed behind Dagger. "Ass." He grumbled and his fingers went to comb back his hair. "Why did Mr. Law get me into this mess? I haven't even practiced being a lone weapon yet. Not cool." Soul grumbled to himself as he walked out the door and headed for the gym. "I'll still try though, even though I'm certain I'll get my ass handed to me on a silver platter." He growled to himself as he walked down the crowded hallways.


	17. Chapter 17

Soul stepped into the gym, his hands drenched with nervous sweat as his heart beat quickened with every step he took. He hadn't done this in a while; fighting… the last time he had taken down someone was his last mission with Maka.

No… he won't think of her… not right now… Soul shook his head, clearing it as he looked up to see everyone had their eyes on him, some with disgust, and some with… hope?

"Soul Eater against Dagger Nelson! Who shall be victorious?" Mr. Law's booming voice echoed through the gymnasium, a roar of cheers bouncing back at them making Soul flinch.

Calm down Soul Eater, you're acting as if it's your first time in a battle. Soul growled at himself, his hands turning into fists as he walked towards where Mr. Law and Dagger where standing in the middle of the gym.

Dagger smirked at him and held out his hand. "May the best weapon win." He said a smile spreading across his face but it had an evil glint to it.

Soul stared at the hand and he got an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He glanced at Mr. Law to see that he was staring at him.

Mr. Law gave him a short nod and Soul gulped, raising his hand to meet with Daggers.

Unlike Soul, Daggers hand wasn't shaking and had a powerful grip. Dagger noticed this and sent him another smirk.

Soul blinked at him and next thing he knew, Dagger flipped him into the air and while he was up there jumped and pushed him down, aiding gravity with its job.

Pain shot up Souls back when he smacked down onto the ground.

Dagger stepped away from him, his arm turning into a long strip of what looked like wood with huge shards of glass sticking out of it.

"Be sure to not inflict too much damage Dagger!" Mr. Law called out, suddenly remembering what type of weapon he was. A guilty feeling spreading through him as he raised his hands to his head.

The roars of the crowd kept getting louder and louder as Dagger raised his weapon arm in the air.

Soul looked at it with amazement. He was mesmerized, completely forgetting that he was in a fight with Dagger. He had never seen a weapon like that… the wooden weapon had decretive colored swirls around it, a bracelet with a feather hanging loosely from the end. The shards of glass glistening in the light as they came down.

Quickly thinking, Soul rolled out of the way and jumped up as the weapon came down in the space where his leg was, a loud snap echoing through the gym, silencing the crowd, and then a louder roar came from them. Soul looked at the ground to see that Dagger had made a huge crack on the gym floor and was now glaring at him, a deadly look in his eyes.

Soul glared back, his arm turning into a scythe and Dagger raised his arm again, but to Souls surprise his weapon disappeared and turned back to an arm, which Dagger used to support the other arm as he kneeled down on one knee. The supported arm pointed towards Soul, his hand turning into a fist.

Soul stood there, confused, what the heck was going on? Had Dagger gone crazy?

The crowd went silent, unlink Soul, they knew what Dagger was doing. They were all looking in Soul's direction waiting to see what his reaction will be.

Dagger smirked at Soul as his arm let out a bright glow making Soul look away, but he shook it off and turned back to see that Dagger's arm had turned into some sort of cannon. From Soul's point of view it looked like some sort of nest of bees… he was beyond confused but he kept his posture, willing to take what Dagger would throw at him.

From the audience's point of view, the cannon was what they feared Dagger would pull. They went quiet trying not to remember the pain that it inflicted. The cannon is called 'The Nest of Bees'. It had a bunch of arrows on it, and on the tip of each one there was a poison that would paralyze your body. They all knew what was going to happen next. Some of the audience stood up and left, not wanting to watch Soul's defeat.

Dagger let out a chuckle as arrows shot out of the cannon, the force pushing him back a little.

Soul's eyes widened and his scythe arm went to shield his head as a swarm of arrows flew at him. Soul ran out of the way and ran toward Dagger as the arrows hit the ground behind him and disappeared. While Dagger was just getting up, Soul swiped at him, but Dagger was ready for him.

Dagger turned his other arm into his Macuahuitl, the wooden stick with glass sticking out of it, was out and ready and came in contact with Soul's scythe just as it was about to dig into his shoulder.

Twisting his arm around Soul's scythe, Dagger bent it in the wrong direction making Sol yelp in pain and start to see white spots.

No, you've been through worse Soul Eater! You could do this! Soul blinked away the while dots and brought his other arm over to punch Dagger in the stomach with enough force to let him go and stumble back on the ground, out of breath. That was all that Soul needed, he lifted his scythe arm and brought it down on Dagger's Macuahuitl.

Dagger let out a roar of pain much to the crowd's surprise.

"Give up yet?" Soul asked him, looking down at Dagger.

In spite of the pain he was in, Dagger managed to pull a smirk onto his face. "What do you think?" he asked Soul as he brought his legs to kick at Soul's making him loose his balance and stumble onto his back.

Dagger stood up now that his weapon was free and looked down at it. There was blood running down it as if it were one of the other swirls on the weapon.

Dagger glared down at Soul, he may be in pain, but he was Dagger… he never gave up. He walked over to Soul and they both looked into each other's eyes.

"You threw a cheap move out there Eater… it's my turn." Dagger growled at him and stomped with all his might onto Soul's stomach a grin spreading across his face with satisfaction when he heard bones crack.

Soul let out a groan of pain against his will; the white dots were back and more powerful than last time.

Raising his Macuahuitl, Dagger set it against Soul's cheek, the glass digging into it. "Give up yet?" he asked sarcastically, mimicking Soul's voice a fake pout on his lips as he slowly yanked the weapon ripping Soul's cheek until the tip of his lip.

The white spots clouded his vision and Soul passed out from the pain. "That's enough Dagger!" was the last thing he heard.


	18. Chapter 18

_**A/N: Sorry for not uploading for a while. But I'm here now, hardly any homework and on a sugar high from all the Halloween candy! X) Happy late Halloween people! X)**_

Maka sighed in relief when Carlo finished his tattoo. "I told you to choose somewhere else for me to draw it on, but no, you were stubborn." Carlo grumbled with a role of his eyes.

"Shut up." she grumbled, already in a bad mood.

"You women are so weak." Carlo mumbled as he threw something into a trash can that was next to Maka's bed.

"Excuse me?" Maka asked him.

"You want me to say it louder? Fine. Women. Are. Weak." Carlo spat at her as he began to pack his things up.

Maka glared at him. "Why are you saying that?" she asked him as her hand went up to gingerly finger the bandages at the back of her neck.

"Don't touch it." Carlo warned her shutting the box that he had come in with.

"Don't dodge my question." Maka told him.

"If you'll excuse me." He said, getting a good hold of the metal box and was about to walk out of the room.

"Hold up. Answer my question." Maka growled.

"That's none of your business." He responded without looking back, a foot past the door already.

"Fine then, I challenge you." Maka said, a smug tone in her voice.

Carlo froze at the door, his back straightening as he turned to look at her in the eye. "What was that?" he asked her.

"You heard me. I challenge you so that you could see that not all women are as weak as you think." Maka said.

"You know, you're right, women may not be as weak as I have thought." Carlo said a small devious smile lite his face.

"I told you." Maka said, she couldn't help the smug look that she shot him.

But, of course Carlo had to shoot it down. "They are actually a whole lot weaker. Do you really think I would accept a challenge from you when you're supposed to be resting?" Carlo asked, laughing.

Maka glared at him. "Fine then, once I'm out of this bed, I'm going to make you change your mind on women." Maka threatened.

"You do that." Carlo said with a roll of his eyes as he walked out the door.

"Maka, I'm heading back home before Tsubaki starts to worry." Black*Star said through a mouth full of what looked like a fries, strolling into the room about an hour after Carlo left.

"Before you leave… could you tell me about Soul?" Maka asked before she could stop herself.

Black*Star sat down next to her, swallowing his food and looking down at her. "He moved away Maka. He goes to another school now." Black*Star told her.

"Why?" Maka managed to ask after a moment of silence.

Black*star shook his head. "You're not ready for the answer." He mumbled, his hand going up to ruffle her hair. "Well, good bye peasant." Black*Star said and he stood up, walking out the door without turning back to look at her.

"Black*Star! What do you mean?" Maka yelled out after him but sighed and rolled onto her side when he didn't return to answer her question.

"Maybe I should call him to make sure he's okay." Maka mumbled to herself, but then it hit her. "What if Blair picks up the phone? What would she do to him?" she whispered to herself and groaned in pain.

_**-Page Break-**_

Soul felt pressure on his chest causing his eyes to spring open. The first thing he noticed was the room he was in looked like the nurses office. The second thing was the fact that he was laying down on a really uncomfortable bed. The third thing was the purple cat that was nuzzling his neck.

"Blair? What the hell are you doing here?" he growled at her, his good arm going to push her off of him.

Blair growled in annoyance when she hit the floor.

Soul looked down at himself, inspecting his body. He groaned in annoyance when he saw that his arm was in a cast… again. "Not even a few days after the cast is gone and I have it back." He growled to himself. He looked down at his torso to see that he had bandages wrapped around his stomach. Something felt wrong on his cheek, but he was too afraid to touch it.

"What are you doing here Blair?" he growled at her, trying to distract himself from the bandages.

"I was always with you silly, I watched you from the sidelines. Don't worry dear, I'll take care of the bastard that hurt you. I love you." Blair purred as she went to lay down next to Soul again, but Soul pushed her away again.

"Leave him alone, I'll deal with him." He growled but there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Soul called out as Blair stood up, making sure that her short dress wasn't crumpled up.

"It's me." Mr. Law said as he opened the door, a clip board in his hands, but he froze when he made eyes contact with Blair. "Blair? Is that you?"


	19. Chapter 19

Mr. Law stood there waiting for an answer but Blair just hissed at him and looked down at Soul. "I'll see you later tonight my scythe boy." She whispered as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek before Soul could stop her and turned herself into a cat, jumping out the nearest open window.

"What was she doing here?" Mr. Law growled at Soul.

"How do you know her?" Soul asked him, making a mental side note to get himself a dog.

"Don't avoid the question." Mr. Law growled at him, his fingers tightening around the clip board in his hands.

"She says that she loves me, but I don't love her back, I despise her." Soul growled, his thoughts drifting towards Maka, but he shook his head with a sigh and looked back up at Mr. Law. "Anyways, what did you need?" he asked him.

Mr. Law looked at him with speculation then a bright smile replaced his frown. "I was coming here to kick you out of the school for losing, like I had told you before… but a new problem just popped up and I think you might be of much help to solve it." Mr. Law murmured to himself as he walked over to the window that Blair jumped out of.

His smile disappeared once more, his hands tightening around the clipboard so hard that it cracked into pieces, causing his hands to bleed, but Mr. Law didn't so much as flinch.

"What did she do?" Soul asked him.

"She killed her." He whispered.

"Who's her?" Soul asked him.

"She killed my daughter just to get her body. She was just an ordinary cat with too much power… but she grew envious of my daughter and destroyed her soul, leaving an empty shell that the witch would be able to control." Mr. Law said through clenched teeth. "Now that I have finally found her weakness… I could have my revenge." He managed to say and turned to look at Soul. "You could stay at the school for as long as you want, I'll be sure to take care of that little, purple problem of yours." Mr. Law said with a tight nod and left the room before Soul could get a good grasp of what happened.

_**-Page Break-**_

Maka sat up on her bed, about a week had passed and she was feeling a whole lot better, but her mood went south when she remembered that she had challenged Carlo to a fight.

"I'm so stupid." She muttered to herself as she let her elbows rest on her knees and her head fall in her hands.

"No you're not, you just don't know the reason as to why he's like that." She heard Pop's say from the doorway.

Maka shot out of the bed in surprise, tripping over her own two feet and landing on the ground face first with a loud thud.

"Sorry for scaring you." Pops said as he rushed over to her and helped her up.

"No, it's fine." She mumbled, her body was still a little sore but she was fine, nothing a strong meister couldn't handle. "Could you pass me my crutch, my leg is still a little numb." She mumbled pointing to the crutch on the other side of the room.

"Where do you think you are going? It's almost time for lunch." Pops said with a chuckle as he set her down on the bed and sat down next to her.

"I told Carlo that I was going to fight him once I'm able to get out of this bed." She told him.

"I know that's why I'm not going to let you go." Pops said.

Maka froze and looked up at him. "What?" she asked him. "Why?"

"Because when it comes to fighting, Carlo doesn't know when to stop."

Maka looked up at Pops. "I can't go back on my word. He has to learn not to be sexist."

"He killed his mother." Pops said with a sigh and before Maka could jump to conclusions he explained why. "They would always get into an argument over the stupidest things, until one day, he had it, he challenged her to a fight… you know, you remind me of her, always so stubborn.

"Anyways, like I said before, Carlo doesn't know when to stop. He punched her to death, repeated blows to the head… and she took them without crying out from the agony so that he doesn't get too traumatized. By the time I got there to stop him… it was too late. Carlo was standing over his mom's body. He didn't blame himself for his mother's death… he blamed the woman's weakness, their hearts." He mumbled. "Do you understand now why I don't want you to go fight him?" Pops asked her.

Maka sighed. "Yeah… I'm going to go talk with him." She murmured. "Could you pass me my crutch?"


	20. Chapter 20

_**A/N: I have writers block with the stories 'No Excuses' and 'The Apple Of My Eyes Part Two', so I'm working on this one for now. Plus, I really do want to get more updates in so Soul and Maka could meet up again. Wouldn't that be nice? Of course, I'll try not to rush it! X) Happy late Thanksgiving people! X)**_

Black*star walked up the stars in the direction of his apartment, dead tired, dragging his feet with every step. "Just a few more minutes and this god will finally be able to sleep." He mumbled to himself as he reached the top of the stairs and walked over to his apartment door and slipped his hand into his pocket pulling the key out and unlocking the door.

He opened it with a small yawn only to jump back in surprise when Tsubaki tackled him to the ground.

"Tsubaki?" Black*star wasn't so sure that this was his weapon. His weapon was usually calm and collected.

"Black*Star… you didn't have to leave while I was asleep Black*Star… I thought you were going to follow Maka's example and leave me… I was so scared." She mumbled.

Black*Star searched her eyes, past the unshed tears he could see her soul, it was weak and that hurt him. It saddened him that he would have to betray her soon…

Black*Star sighed. "Okay Tsubaki. I would never do what Maka did to Soul. Plus, I'm pretty sure Maka had a good reason to do what she did." Black*Star said as he sat up and hugged Tsubaki to him.

Tsubaki nodded and hugged him back. "Anyways… I made dinner for you." she told him a smile starting to appear on her face.

Black*Star tried to enjoy the rest of the evening with Tsubaki… but he couldn't. He kept going back to the thought of betraying her. The day passed way to quickly for him and next thing he knew he was sitting down on his bed, a small flashlight in his hand, turning it on and off repeatedly hoping that he would get bored and doze off.

Black*Star looked at the bed across from him with a small frown but froze when he heard his name being mumbled by his weapon.

He blinked and sighed and turned around so his back was to Tsubaki.

"Black*Star?" she mumbled again.

"Yes?" he mumbled, looking out the window and up to the moon.

Tsubaki paused, letting her hand support the weight of her body as she sat up. "Thanks for coming back… like you always do." She whispered to him and the laid back down rolling in her bed trying to get comfortable.

Black*star turned to face her and gave her a small smile. "You're welcome." He whispered and put the flashlight down on the ground. "Let's meet up with the others. We could all visit Soul while we're at it. I haven't seen him in a while." He mumbled with a small yawn and only received a small grunt from his sleepy weapon.

As his eyes closed… he managed to convince himself that he should enjoy Tsubaki's smiles while he had them, and he hopes that that will be for a while.

**-Page Break-**

Pops stood up and grabbed the clutch and handed it to Maka. "Maybe you should eat first." He mumbled. "Your mother is worried enough."

Maka nodded. "I understand… could you pack me a sandwich?" she asked him as she started to hobble out the door of the room. "And where is Jared so that he could take me to Carlo's house." Maka asked beginning towards the living room of the house.

"Maka, first of all, you're my granddaughter and I want what's best for you… that is why I think you should rest more before you go over to Carlo's house. It's for the best." Pops said as he patted her head.

Maka looked at him suspiciously. "Are you hiding something from me?"

Pops let out a laugh. "Silly Maka, come on, your mom's in the kitchen." Pops said motioning for her to follow him down the hall. "Look who's up and walking!" Pops called out into the kitchen as Maka hobbled close behind him.

There was the sound of a plate hitting the ground and smashing into pieces. Then there was a pause.

Maka looked up at Pops, a worried look passing between them but it didn't last long when Kami ran out of the kitchen and threw her arms around Maka, not caring how bruised up she was. "We have a lot to talk about Maka." Kami said tightening her grip around her daughter.

"I know mom, but can you make me a sandwich?" Maka asked her patting her back with the hand that wasn't gripping tightly the crutch.

"Of course dear." Kami said before rushing back to the kitchen.

Maka looked up at Pops. "Where's Jared?" she asked him.

Pops looked down at her and smiled. "He is taking care of your cat problem." He said.

"What?" Maka exclaimed.

"I would have thought you'd be glad." Pops said confused.

Maka shook her head and clutched at her hair. "What if she injures him? You know she is very powerful." Maka informed him.

Pops chuckled. "Don't worry Maka; he took back up with him."

Maka looked up at him and sighed in relief. "At least that way he would have more of a chance at getting rid of her." She whispered to herself. "Could you take me to talk to Carlo?" she asked him.

Pops looked down at her. "It'll have to be tomorrow, Jared took my car." Pops lied through his teeth with a small shrug.

_**-Page Break A Day Later-**_

Jared stared back at the woman that was holding her claws to his throat. He should have listened to Pops and taken that back up with him instead of just saying he did. How did he end up here again? Oh yeah…

_**-Flash Back-**_

After paying the cab driver the money he owed, he watched the cab drive off.

The words that Black*Star had told him running through his mind. "Blair is stalking Soul. I'm visiting him tomorrow at the private school he's attending. He's pretty beat up and my job as his god is to be there for him. I'll meet you there then." Black*Star had mumbled to him sleepily when Jared had called him around three o'clock in the morning.

"This can't wait until tomorrow. The cat needs to pay with all of her lives for what she has done to Maka." He mumbled to himself as he looked up at the school building.

If his calculations were correct, Blair should be watching over him.

He looked up at the moon and it sent him a twisted, red smile.

"I think a good old fashion break in is in order." He said to himself, not remembering how many years had gone by since the last time he had felt this alive.

He ran with the shadows, but it's not like he needed to, the school was almost empty, but you could never be too careful.

Climbing up the wall he managed to get to the third floor of the school. Gripping to the wall with one hand, and opening a nearby window with the other, he managed to get inside of the school.

He turned and shut it closed silently before beginning to blend in with the shadows once more. That's when it hit him… he had no idea as to where he was going. It took him almost an hour of peeking into rooms until he found one that was occupied.

He stood up straight… could this be the boy that Maka had fallen for? He sneaked inside, silently closing the door behind him.

He walked to the middle of the room where the boy slept on what looked like a hospital bed, his chest rising and lowering with every breath he took.

He tried to remember what Maka had told him about what Soul looked like as he looked at the boy in front of him, taking in the characteristics. It was the white hair that convinced him… this was Soul. "You were the one that had put Maka through so much pain without knowing it… Idiot." He said with a small chuckle but his chuckle disappeared when he saw the scar that looked almost like Maka's. The one that ran down their cheeks.

He had let his guard down, he admits it. Next thing he knew he was flung against the other side of the room.

Soul's eyes flung open at the sound. "Who's there?" he called out, sitting up quickly.

"Don't worry Soul, I'm here for you." Jared heard someone say.

"Blair? What the hell are you doing here again?" Soul growled, searching the room but he couldn't find her, instead his eyes landed on the stranger at the other side of the room. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I thought Maka was kidding about the red eyes." Jared mumbled, standing back up, ignoring pain that his now broken rib caused.

"Maka? Wait, you know Maka? How is she?" Soul asked getting off of the bed, hope filling his eyes, a small smile on his face as he walked in the direction of the stranger, a little stumble in his step.

"She's fine." Jared said, but he wasn't really paying attention to him all that much, he was trying to find the reason that he was thrown across the room. That's when his eyes landed on a small purple kitten. "There you are." He growled as his arm turned into a scythe.

"You're a weapon?" Soul questioned.

"I'm Maka's weapon. I'm here to get rid of her problem." Jared said.

"Maka's… weapon?" Soul whispered, shock coursing through him… how could she move on so quickly? How come he can't move on?

"I'm not letting you anywhere near Soul!" Blair yelled out turning into her human form and pinning Jared to the wall, her hand turning into her paw, her claws digging into his neck.

_**-End Flashback-**_

That's where he found himself now. He stared at them cat's soul less eyes and saw that his end was near.

"I'm… Maka's problem?" Soul whispered to himself falling to his knees, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

Jared couldn't correct him; he wasn't Maka's problem… but Jared was running out of breath fast, he had to do something and fast.

Blair's hold on his throat tightened, cutting off his air completely.

Soul shook out of his shock and threw himself at Blair, not being able to do much thanks to his cast but he pulled at the arm that was attached to Jared's neck.

Blair glared at him. "Pum-pum-pumpkin." She growled and Soul went flying to his bed, pumpkin waiting there to latch themselves onto his skin and not let go of him or the bed until told to do so. "Blair let him go!" Soul growled, thrashing, ignoring the agony that was invading his body.

Jared's scythe arm swung forward, slicing Bair in half. Her eyes widened as her grip on his throat slacked.

She fell to the floor, the top half of her torso falling on top of the other.

Jared fell to his knees, he started to see stars. Trembling, his hands went to his throat to feel blood pouring out of the final cut that Blair managed to make before she fell to the ground. Jared fell forward as his eyes rolled back into his head, his whole body locking into place.

While Jared died, Blair's eyes started to blink much to Soul's surprise.

Slowly her body started to reattach itself. "Four lives left." She mumbled to herself, ignoring the pain that was going through the body that she had taken over.

Soul felt useless… he was sure this was going to bite him in the ass in the near future. A few minutes passed and Blair stretched out on the ground, turning back into her cat form and running out of the room, jumping out of the window, her pumpkins following her.

Soul groaned and a second later he rushed over to the body that was on the ground.

The door creaked open and Dagger stepped in a marker in one hand and an open bottle of beer in the other. Humming to himself he took a swig from the bottle but froze when he took in the scene in front of him.

The bottle that was in his hand fell to the floor and so did the marker. "Shit Soul, what the hell did you do?" he asked.


	21. Chapter 21

Dagger started to back away slowly with a small hiccup. "Never mind, I don't want to know what you did. In fact, I was never here." Dagger said with a small slur.

"Get your drunken ass over here and help me get this man onto the bed." Soul growled at Dagger as he hooked his good arm around the man's torso.

Stumbling towards them, Dagger managed to get a hold of the man's legs. "Is he dead?" Dagger asked as they lifted him and managed to lay him on the bed awkwardly.

"I don't know." Soul mumbled as he pulled his arm out from under the man and checked his pulse. "His pulse is faint but it's there." He mumbled and looked up at Dagger. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go get Mr. Law!" he exclaimed.

"Me? I'm drunk if you haven't noticed Mr. SmartAss. He isn't going to believe me." Dagger said with a small hiccup.

Soul rolled his eyes and pressed the red button on the wall that called for the nurse and then ran out the door, calling out behind him, "You're drunk, not high!"

"You don't know that." Dagger mumbled to himself and went to pick up his beer bottle and took a swig of what was left inside of it.

Soul ran to the main office that was downstairs. "That was Maka's weapon. If I save him, he might convince her to come back." He said to himself as he ran down the last hallway a couple of minutes later.

The main office was empty but kept unlocked for this kind of emergency. Soul ran in and grabbed the phone, dialing the number that was on a sticky note next to it.

"Hello?" he heard Mr. Law grumbled into the phone.

"Mr. Law? Something bizarre happened in the nurse's office just now and the result is that a man is dying." Soul said into the phone quickly.

Soul heard shuffling in the background. "I'll be there in a couple of minutes; head back to the room and make sure that the man is still alive by the time I get there." Mr. Law said into the phone, sounding more alert than the time he answered, and ended the conversation by hanging up.

Soul stared at the phone is disbelief. "How the hell am I supposed to do that? I'm not trained for this type of situation!" he exclaimed as he ran back to nurse's room, getting winded quickly.

Ignoring the burning of his lungs, Soul rushed to the nurse's office to see the school nurse already attending the man. "How did this happen?" she asked Dagger who was sitting on the other side of the room.

Dagger snorted. "How the hell am I supposed to know? I'm just an innocent by-stander." He said with a shrug, looking down at his empty bottle of beer with a frown.

"Could you fix him first and then ask questions?" Soul asked her as he walked to stand next to her. "Mr. Law said to keep him alive, at least until he gets here."

"You called Mr. Law? Why?" The nurse asked as she managed to get the open wound on the man's neck to stop bleeding so that she could start sewing it together. "The cut wasn't deep enough to cut through anything vital, but I'll need to put him on a machine that'll breathe for him for now." She mumbled more to herself than to Soul.

"So… he's going to be okay?" Soul asked her completely ignoring her first questions.

"Yeah… but he won't be able to leave until he gives us a good reason as to why he was here in the first place." The nurse said as she went to open one of the medicines cabinets and grabbed a first-aid kit.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Soul asked her.

The nurse pulled out a needle and thread and started to sew the wound closed. "I'm saying that he won't be able to leave school grounds until we found out why he was in here in the first place. That means no communication to the outside world either, just the witnesses and Mr. Law." The nurse explained.

Soul nodded in understanding. "I see." He mumbled. "Hey, could you get in trouble for underage drinking?" Soul asked sending a smirk in Daggers direction.

Dagger glared at him but said nothing.

"As a matter of fact, you _could _get punished for underage drinking. Isn't that correct Mr. Nelson?" the nurse asked Dagger with a smug smile.

Dagger sunk in his chair with a groan; he knew what was coming next.

The door swung open and Mr. Law rushed into the room, still in his pajamas and a trench coat over them.

"What happened?" he asked Soul, walking up to the bed to see the man lying there unconscious, but still breathing.

"Blair." Soul mumbled.

Mr. Law nodded in understanding. "Soul, explain to me what happened in my office. Follow me… Oh and Dagger, three months detention for bringing alcoholic beverages into the school. And another one for sneaking into the school in general." Mr. Law called out without turning to look at the shocked face that Dagger had on.

Soul smiled, at least one good thing happened tonight.

_**-Page Break-**_

Maka kept waking up at night. She got a horrible feeling that crawled up her skin, telling her that something had gone wrong… but what?

With a sigh, Maka sat up, stretching and hobbling over to the kitchen, ignoring the cries of her half-brother that were coming from her mother's room. Shuffling through the fridge's contents she decided to just serve herself some milk.

When she drank her milk, she decided that she wasn't about to go to sleep anytime soon, so she got dressed and walked out the front door, crutch in hand, taking a small walk around the neighborhood, but she didn't go far.

"What are you doing up so late? Don't women need their beauty sleep?"

Maka rolled her eyes and looked behind her to see Carlo standing right there, a frown decorated his face as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I live right across the street idiot." He answered.

Maka froze and slapped her forehead; she didn't need Pop's help after all. "Look, I need to talk to you."

Carlo laughed. "I knew you would back out of the fight. Oh well, at least you were brave enough to actually challenge me, but of course, like most woman you don't even try."

"Carlo-" Maka tried to say but he interrupted her.

"Don't worry Maka; I know you can't handle losing to me."

"That's not it-" Maka said again only to be interrupted.

"It is fine Maka, I saw this coming. I'm not shocked at the least."

"No, Carlo-"

"I'm just gonna head home now." Carlo said and made his way to the other side of the street.

Maka saw her chance to talking to him about to fly out the window so she did what she had to do in order to keep him from entering his house. "I know what happened with your mom." She blurted out and quickly realized that that was the worst thing she could blurt out.

Carlo's back went stiff. Without turning to look at Maka he spoke. "What did you say?" his voice stiff.

Maka gulped, oh well, too late to back out now. "I said, 'I know what happened with your mom'." Maka said again.

Carlo turned to face her. "You don't know shit." He growled at her, clenching his teeth in anger.

"Pops told me what happened." Maka explained, stuffing free hand into her jacket pocket while the other clutched at the crutch as she started to shiver from the cold.

Carlo's eyes widened and sighed. "Come on, I'll tell you my version of the story." He said, motioning for her to follow him.

When she didn't follow him, he sighed. "The fight is off; I'm not going to attack you." Carlo said with an eye roll as he walked up to his door.

"That's not what I'm worried about." She mumbled to herself as she walked to his house.

He held the door open for her and let her in, following after her and closing the door. "Save all the questions until the end of the story, alright?" Carlo asked her but didn't wait for her to answer as he led her to the living room.

"Have a seat Maka." Carlo motioned for her to sit down next to him after he sat down.

Maka did as she was told, not bothering to take in her surroundings as she set her crutch on the ground next to their feet.

"Look, you better not tell anyone about this, got that?" he growled at her.

Maka nodded patiently, and made sure to stay quiet.

"When I was little I had the perfect family, a hard working father, a stay at home mother, and I was spoiled because I was an only child… but then my dad found out that my mom was part of the Star Clan and he divorced her leaving her alone with me… that's when everything went haywire.

"I started to cut, do drugs and I would always fight with my mother. I wouldn't help her in anything and I wouldn't even do any of my own things either… my mom grew tired and the more annoyed she got with me the more fights we had. I turned fifteen and I started to dress in all black clothing, chains hanging from my jeans, dyed my hair black with a few red and green streaks, eye shadow the whole enchilada. But it was the lip piercing that got to her.

"I couldn't take it anymore; I did what I had to do. I challenged her to a fight." Carlo whispered to himself shaking his head, slouching forward and letting his head fall into his hands.

Maka patted his back and drew soothing circles on it with her palm hoping to relax him a bit. He took in a deep breath and sat up. "Before the fight started a smoked a few joints… I couldn't control myself in the fight… I didn't know what to stop, all I could hear is her yelling at me and then everything went silent, but I still kept going… I kept going until I was sure that I won.

"Pops was to fucking late to do anything. By the time it was all over… my mom was gone." He said to himself, taking in another deep breath and letting it out as his eyes slid closed to try to relax himself. "Any questions?" he mumbled.

"None." Maka responded, patting his back one last time before

"Huh? Wait what?" he asked her, his eyes widening with shock.

"Well, maybe just one. Who else have you told this too?" she asked him.

Carlo blinked at her and then sat back thinking about it. "No one actually." He mumbled.

"You had to get it off your chest. Look, Carlo, woman aren't weak… we're loving. There's a huge difference. You just need to know that." Maka said as she stood up and stretched letting out a small yawn. "Well, I'm beat, I'm gonna go back to bed." She mumbled ruffling his hair on her way out after she got a hold of her crutch. "Oh, and visit me later!" she called out without turning back to look at him.

Carlo watched her leave in amazement. "You are one of the weirdest chicks I will ever meet Maka Albarn… maybe… just maybe… not all woman are weak." Carlo sat back and thought about it. "Nah." He mumbled to himself as he made his way to his room. "Why did I tell her what happened?" he asked himself as he lay down in bed. "And what was I doing out of the house at this late hour?" He scratched his head in confusion but as he felt his eyelids grow heavier he decided to let it drop and go to sleep


	22. Chapter 22

Black*Star groaned and sat up in his bed with as his cell phone rang on the night stand next to his bed.

He grabbed it, dragging himself out of his bed yawning, and stepping into the hallway as he rubbed his eyes.

"Hello?" he murmured into the phone.

"Black*Star?" the person on the other end asked.

"Yeah, who's this?" he mumbled into the phone.

"It's Pops, I got to ask you a question." Pops said.

"Oh, of course Pops, what's up?" Black*Star mumbled leaning against the wall with a small yawn.

"Black*Star? Is Jared there with you?" Pops asked him, a worried tone ringing in his voice.

"Why would he be with me?" Black*Star asked, pushing himself away from the wall and made his way to the kitchen.

There was mumbling on the other end of the line so Black*Star took the chance to tuck the phone between his ear and shoulder as he reached up into one of the cupboards and pulled out a plate to pour cereal into.

"Hello?" he said into the phone when he began to think they forgot to hang the phone up.

"Black*Star, did Jared call you yesterday?" Pops asked again.

Black*Star reached for the cereal that was on top of the fridge and poured some into his bowl, setting the box on the table.

"Look, give it to me straight Pops, what's going on?" he asked him, starting to get annoyed as he searched for a spoon in the drawer, once he found one, he reached into the fridge and grabbed the milk, pouring some into the bowl before putting it back in the fridge.

"Black*Star answer my question." Pops demanded.

Black*Star rolled his eyes and took a seat at the table, dipping the spoon into the cereal and bring it to his mouth. "Look, he called me at fucking four in the morning okay. Now tell me what's happening." Black*Star said through a mouthful of cereal.

"We've lost touch with Jared." Pops said.

Black*Star froze for a second and then rolled his eyes, eating another spoonful of cereal. "Dude, it's fine, as long as he has his backup with him." Black*Star said with his mouthful again.

"Black*Star… he didn't take backup." Pops growled into the phone.

Black*Star rolled his eyes. "Idiot." He mumbled. "Look, I'll call you back if I find out anything. Bye." He said and hung up, remembering the conversation he had with Jared. "He better not have done what I think he did." Black*Star mumbled to himself as he took another spoonful of cereal into his mouth angrily.

"Who is this Pops you were talking to?" Tsubaki asked sitting down next to him, a worried look in her eyes. She had woken up when the cell phone rang and couldn't go back to sleep, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Black*Star froze and looked up at her, swallowing his mouthful of cereal. "It's rude to eavesdrop Tsubaki." Black*Star told her, a warning in his eyes.

Tsubaki saw the warning but she was worried for her meister. "Black*Star… tell me what's wrong, you've been gone an awful lot lately." She mumbled, reaching over and setting her hand on his shoulder.

Black*Star looked at her and sent her a small smile. "Family problems Tsubaki, don't you worry." He mumbled taking another spoonful of cereal.

Tsubaki blinked, worry rushing through her as her grip on his shoulder tightened. "Black*Star… your family was killed." She told him with wide eyes.

Black*Star froze. He had slipped. "Uh… my point exactly Tsubaki." He said hurriedly.

"Black*Star, tell me the truth." Tsubaki said grabbing his chin with her free hand and forcing him to look into her eyes

"Look, Tsubaki, I just need to be alone." He mumbled, yanking his chin away from her grip and quickly finishing his cereal and running to change out of his pajamas.

Tsubaki sighed. "What are you hiding from me Black*Star?" she mumbled to herself.

-_**Page Break-**_

Jared groaned in pain and brought his hand to his neck where it throbbed. "Kami?" he called out into the room, his voice a little off.

When he opened his eyes he saw that he wasn't at his home, his wife wasn't next to him in their bed. "What the hell?" he mumbled to himself, his voice a few octaves lower.

He felt the ridges of the scar underneath his finger, his eyes widening as the memories came back. "Damn it." he growled to himself as he looked around the room trying to find a phone but found nothing.

"What have I gotten myself into?" he muttered to himself.

"Oh, you're up."

Jared's head snapped in the direction of the voice to see it was the white haired boy again. Jared stayed quiet and leaned back into the bed.

"I don't know if I told you before, but my name is Soul." The boy said introducing himself a small smile on his face.

"Look, kid, I'm not here for you, in fact, I'm not even supposed to be here. I need to call Pops." He murmured to himself and then looked up at Soul. "Do you have a phone I could use?" Jared asked, letting his hand go up to his throat.

"I need to know how Maka is doing." he said, completely ignoring Jared's question.

Jared looked at him and smirked a little. "You have the same scar as she does, just on the other cheek." Jared said, pointing to the scar on Soul's cheek.

Soul's hand went to touch his scar, a slight from gracing his face. "I know, I've seen it." he mumbled.

"Look, you seem like a good kid, but move on, trust me; you don't want to be a part of her life anymore." Jared warned him with a small frown.

Soul glared at him. "Of course I want to be a part of her life. She was the one that walked away from me." Soul growled walking towards the bed.

"Then leave her alone. It's for your own good." Jared responded. "Now if you don't mind, I need to leave, I don't want to worry my family any more than I need to." Jared said standing up and making his way towards the door, but Soul pulled him back and sat him down.

"I need to know where she is." Soul growled at him.

"No you don't, you'll be better off if you never see her again." Jared told him.

"What are you talking about?" Soul asked him.

"You don't want to know." Jared said.

"Is she hurt? Is she dying? She's dying isn't she?" Soul exclaimed, jumping to conclusions.

"No, she's very much alive, I'll tell you that." Jared said pulling at the hand that was gripping his blood stained shirt.

"Then what's the problem?" Soul demanded, shaking him a bit.

"Get away from him!" they both heard someone call out from the door way.

Jared groaned, he knew that voice anywhere and really, he would rather be saved by anyone else.

Soul looked from where the voice was coming from. "Black*Star, I could handle myself." Soul said and went back to glaring at Jared.

Black*Star closed the door behind him and walked up to them and set his hand on Soul's shoulder.

"I said I could handle myself Black*Star. What're you even doing here?" Soul asked him, not letting go of Jared.

"Let go of him Soul." Black*Star growled and flung Soul across the room with a loud bang.

Soul felt pain shoot up his spine as he hit the wall. "What the hell Black*Star?" he growled.

Black*Star ignored him and glared down at Jared.

"Why did they send you here Black*Star?" Jared asked.

"Blair got to you didn't she?" Black*Star said pointing to his scar with a small chuckle. "That's what you get for not waiting for me, or at least bringing fucking back up." Black*Star said slapping him upside the head.

"Why did they send you here?" Jared growled again, rubbing the back of his head.

"No one sent me here; they are still trying to track you down. What do I get for saving your ass? Nothing, not even a 'hey cousin'. You're lucky I wasn't in the mood to confront Tsubaki." Black*Star said childishly sticking his tongue out at him.

Soul watched with wide eyes the scene going on in front of him. "What the hell is going on?" Soul murmured to himself.

"Should we kill him? He knows too much." Jared said looking over his shoulder to look at Soul.

"No! No, we are not killing him." Black*Star growled.

"You are way too soft, fine, we'll take him hostage." Jared said, cracking his fingers and walking over to a stunned Soul, knocking him out easily with a blow in the back of the head.

Bending over he threw him over his shoulder and winced. "Let's go." Jared said through clenched teeth.

"Soul, Mr. Law told me to-" Dagger said walking in to the room and freezing in his place when he saw an unconscious Soul and two other guys. "It's always me isn't it?" he cursed to himself and made a mad dash out the door.

Black*Star stopped him though, right outside the door, tackling him to the ground, holding him in a chock hold until he passed out.

Grabbing Dagger, he threw him over his shoulder and turned to Jared. "Come on, let's go, we'll have to foot it a couple of blocks and then get on the bus to the nearest airport."

Jared glared at him. "Let's just call Pops." He mumbled as they made a mad dash towards the exit, surprised that they weren't caught by anyone.

Blair was smiling, sitting on top of her floating pumpkin on top of the school, watching them run towards a nearby alley. "That's right, lead me straight to Maka." She murmured a huge smile on her face as she let out a few giggles.

_**-Page Break-**_

There was a knock at Maka's door causing her to sit up in her bed and lose the page she was on. With a sigh, she put the book down on her bed and grabbed her crutch to help herself up and off of the bed.

There was yet another knock on the door.

Maka rolled her eyes. "I'm coming, hold up." Maka called out but took her sweet time to get to the door.

"Maka, Pops said to take care of you while he was gone." Carlo said leaning against the door frame.

Maka paused and then laughed. "That's funny, like I need a babysitter." She said.

"According to Pops you do." Carlo smirked.

"Shut up." Maka pouted and opened the door wider for him to walk in. "Does my mom know you're here?"

"Yeah, don't worry, she trusts me." Carlo said with a laugh as he let himself fall back onto her bed, taking up most of the space.

Maka rolled her eyes. "Men." She mumbled and hobbled over to her desk chair, sitting down, setting her crutch down next to her.

Carlo laughed. "And you call me sexist." He said chuckling.

"You tend to overdue it." Maka said, a slight blush filling her cheeks.

"Women." Carlo muttered a slight smile on his face.

"Where is Pops anyways?" Maka asked, spinning around in her chair.

"He said something about going to pick Jared up." Carlo said with a shrug.

Maka nodded and looked over in his direction. "Why are you not insulting me every other second?" she asked him after a pause.

Carlo looked up at her a smiled. "I don't know, I guess it's because I told you what happened." He said with a light shrug.

Maka smiled and let out a small laugh. "This means that you don't hate women after all." Maka said pointing at him childishly.

Carlo frowned. "Don't push it."

"I'll stop once you admit it." Maka said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Carlo rolled his eyes and pulled out an IPod, putting in the ear buds and blasting the music, ignoring Maka.

After a few minutes of trying to get his attention, Maka blindly reached over to her desk, her hand thrashing to grab a book, anger rolling off of her.

She found one of her heavy text books and after a few light slaps on her own hand she held it above her head and let it crash down on Carlo's skull.

"Shit!" he called out, his hands going to his head, cradling it. He glared up at her after several minutes of intense pain. "What the hell?" he yelled out, ripping out the ear buds.

"That's what you get for ignoring me." Maka said with a huff, setting down her text book on the ground.

"Women." Carlo mumbled, sitting up and putting his IPod away.

That's when Maka decided to take a good look at him. His red hair was messed up as if he had just gotten out of bed, his sleeveless shirt showing off the tattoos he had on his arms. There were a few snakes, a few words, but most importantly, the star.

His ears were pierced multiple times. He had a nose piercing… but there was no lip piercing. Maka remembered him saying something about that last night.

"Earth to Maka? I know I'm hot, but really, don't go overboard." Carlo smirked, waving his arm in front of her face.

A blush found its way to Maka's cheeks once again. "Shut up." she grumbled slapping his hand away and leaning back in her chair. "Where's the lip piercing?" Maka asked before she could stop herself.

Carlo's smile vanished. "I don't have it anymore." He murmured.

Maka understood, nodding. "Oh." She mumbled, an awkward silence settling between them.

"You wanna go to the movies?" Carlo asked, trying to brighten the mood.

"Sure." Maka said grabbing her crutch.

_**A/N: I needed to distract myself, hence why this chapter is a bit longer than the others. I just had a huge exam and I'm trying to forget about it. This is really working actually. X)**_


	23. Chapter 23

Black*Star sighed and sat against the wall. "It's been three hours Jared. I really doubt that Pops is going to come all the way over here to pick us up." he growled, looking down at a passed out Soul.

Jared only grunted, and went to stand next to him, looking down at the passed out guys in front of them.

"Plus, we're in the middle of an alley. I highly doubt that he would-" Black*Star whined but was cut off by a horn honking. His head snapped up to see a black, modern looking Sudan. The engine being cut as Pops glared at his son and nephew through the now open window of the driver's seat. "Get in." he said through clenched teeth.

"You are in so much trouble." Black*Star smirked at Jared.

"And you Black*Star. I need to have a serious talk with you." Pops growled.

"What? Me!" Black*Star exclaimed.

"You are in so much trouble." Jared mimicked as he walked over to the bodies on the ground.

Black*Star glared at him and made his way towards the open window of the Sudan. "What's up Pops?"

Pops glared at him. "When you called me, you didn't tell me we would have to carry dead bodies, I didn't bring the shovel." He growled at him, looking past him and at Jared as he tried to lift both of the bodies but was failing miserably.

"They aren't dead Pops, they know too much." Black*Star said.

Pops sighed. "Black*Star, that's why they die." Pops explained with a small sigh. "Look, Black*Star about your mission… are you sure you want to go through with it?" Pops asked him.

Black*Star glared at him. "Of course I want to go through with the mission." he growled at Pops.

"Watch your tone with me Black*Star, you may be White*Star's son, but you will respect me." Pops growled at him.

Black*Star flinched and sighed. "Yes sir." He mumbled, scratching the back of his neck and looking down at the ground.

"Black*Star, help me out here will ya?" Jared called out managing to pick up Dagger and walking over to the door.

Black*Star opened the door for him and went to pick Soul up. "Sorry Soul." He mumbled as he gently picked him up and lightly placing him on his shoulder, walking over to Jared and handing Soul to him. "Be careful with him will ya?" Black*Star said once Jared took a good hold of Soul.

Jared looked down at Black*Star and smiled. "Anything for you Cuz." He mumbled and gently set Soul down on the seat and strapping the seat belt in.

"This is what I mean Black*Star… I'm afraid that you might have grown too attached to the enemy… maybe it is better if you come and stay with us." Pops told him.

"I'm sorry Pops… but I'm going to go through with the mission, I have to avenge my family." Black*Star said firmly.

Pops looked at him. "I don't want you to become traumatized Black*Star." Pops told him. "Sometimes I might not show it, but I love you like a son." Pops said, reaching out the open window and patted Black*Stars head.

"I know… I guess I need a break from all this drama… This time when I visit, may I bring my weapon?" Black*Star asked Pops.

Pops smiled at him. "Sure Black*Star, we'll treat her like family." He said and then looked back. "You done over there Jared?" he called out.

"Done." Jared said, seating himself between the two bodies and strapping himself in.

"Alright." Pops said, turning the engine on and turning to look at Black*Star. "Black*Star, quick, go get your weapon, pack and meet us at the airport, we'll wait for you there for no more than an hour."

Black*Star nodded at him and ran in the direction of his apartment instead of the bus station. He felt all giddy inside, a small smile forming on his lips as he ran. Tsubaki will finally meet his family. Just the thought made him push himself to run faster.

It took him five minutes to reach his apartment and run up the stairs that led to it. Forgetting the fact that he had a key in his pocket, he pounded on the door non-stop as he panted.

Tsubaki yanked open the door with wide eyes. "What's wrong? What happened?" she asked him, worry dripping from her voice.

"Tsubaki… you wanted to know who Pops was right." Black*Star managed to say between gasps of air.

"Yeah…" she said cautiously.

"Well, today's your lucky day. Pops is Maka's grandpa. Kami remarried again and Pops is the dad of Maka's step-dad. I've been keeping tabs on Maka through him. Do you want to go visit her?" Black*Star asked her.

Tsubaki blinked taking in the information and a smile crossed her face. "No way…" she murmured. "Yes, Black*Star! Of course! Let's go!" Tsubaki said but the pause. "But what about school?" she asked him.

"Screw school, this is Maka we're talking about. I bet she would love to see us!" Black*Star said running grab the suit case that he didn't have the chance to unpack and ran back out putting it next to the door. "We have to be at the airport in fifty minutes, pack up already while I call a cab." Black*Star said grabbing his cell-phone that was still in his pocket.

When Tsubaki finished packing they only had about thirty minutes left. Quickly they put their suitcases in the back of the Cab and hopped inside, telling the cab driver to go to the airport.

Black*Star pulled his cellphone out again and dialed Pop's number.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hey, it's Black*Star, we're on our way." He said a smile on his face.

"That's great Black*Star, we can't wait to meet your girlfriend." Pops said.

Black*Star stayed quiet, his smile disappearing as a blush creeped up into his cheeks. "Pops, I think you got this all wrong, she's my weapon." Black*Star whispered into the phone.

Tsubaki shot him a glance, but shrugged and stared out the window. She was going to go see Maka.

"Sure, whatever." Jared called out and started to laugh.

"Tell him to shut up." Black*Star growled.

"Jared, show some respect." Pops said, but he was having trouble fighting off a few chuckles too.

"Yes Pops." Jared said as his laughs died down.

Black*Star hung up and sighed, waiting for his cheeks to cool down before he could speak to Tsubaki. He took in a deep breath a snuck a peak at her. "Hey." He mumbled.

Tsubaki looked at him, waiting for him to tell her what he needed.

"Just so you know… Pops is rich thanks to the family business so he owns a private jet… I don't want you to be all surprised because of this so I'm telling you now." He said, the word girlfriend popping into his head again. He groaned and let his forehead fall against the cool glass of the window.

"Black*Star? Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Peachy." He grumbled.

"I'm your weapon Black*Star you could trust me." Tsubaki said.

Black*Star looked at her and let his head hit the window again. "They think you're my girlfriend." He mumbled.

Tsubaki went still, a blush forming in her own cheeks. "Oh…" she mumbled. "So… Maka has a step-father? I didn't know that, did Spirit know?" she asked him.

"If he did, he would be more of a player than he is now don't you think?" Black*Star mumbled, looking out the window.

Black*Star took in a deep breath and sat up straight when the Cab came to a stop. "We're here." He said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty and handing it to the cab driver. Tsubaki and Black*Star got out and got their suitcases, dragging them inside of the airport.

_**-Page Break-**_

"Black*Star is taking forever." Jared complained as he sat back in his seat, bored.

"You're still not off the hook Jared. What the hell were you thinking, going off without backup?" Pops asked him.

"It was a cat I was after; I figured that I wasn't going to need backup." Jared groaned in annoyance.

"But from what you told me on the way here, you got your ass handed to ya. What happened to what I taught you? Remember when I kept telling you to never let your guard down? This is the kind of shit that happens when you do!" Pops growled, pocking the scar that was on Jared's neck.

"I know dad." Jared mumbled letting his head down.

"Keep your head up boy; never let anyone see you with your head down. It's a sign of weakness." Pops spat at him.

Jared sat up straighter and stared up ahead. "My apologies Pops." Jared said with a firm voice.

"That's better. I don't want you to go off and get yourself into more trouble, you got that?" Pops asked.

Jared took in a deep breath. "Pops… I'm not a sixteen year old kid anymore. Stop treating me like one." He growled.

"You will get treated like a sixteen year old because you act like one. When you start to act your own age that is when I will stop treating you like a child Jared." Pops responded, sitting back in his seat.

Jared stood up and walked towards the front of the jet.

"Where are you going Jared?" Pops called out, not moving from his seat.

"To check on the boys." He called out, not looking back at them as he ducked behind the curtain that led to the first class part of the Jet where they had tied down the two unconscious boys.

Pops sighed and sank into his chair, closing his eyes. "You were always a handful Jared." He mumbled to himself as he let himself relax.

"Pops, we're here!" Black*Star called out as was guided into the jet by one of the flight attendants, a tall girl right behind him.

Pops sat up straight, plastering a warm smile on his face as he stood up.

"Black*Star, you made it!" Pops said, standing up and bringing Black*Star in for a hug, crushing him to him as the flight attendant closed the door.

Once Pops let go of Black*Star he turned his attention to the girl behind them. "And is this your girlfriend? Huh, she is way out of your league though." Pops taunted but hugged Tsubaki anyways.

Tsubaki flushed red. "I'm sorry sir. I'm his weapon." She said shyly hugging him back.

"I see, I knew it was too good to be true!" Pops exclaimed with a laugh as he let her go.

"Hey!" Black*Star huffed.

"It's the truth boy." Pops said reaching out to pat Black*Stars hair like he did before.

Black*Star huffed again but then sighed. "Pops, this is Tsubaki, my weapon." Black*Star said, officially introducing them.

"It's nice to meet you Tsubaki." Pops said, sending a smile her way. "Where are my manners? Have a seat, we're about to take off." He said, pushing them towards the seats, letting them choose where they want to sit. ""While you guys do that, I'm going to go tell the pilot that we are ready for takeoff." Pops said walking to where Jared had gone to.

"Sir, I could do that for you." the flight attendant told him.

"No, it's fine; just make sure my guests are comfortable." Pops said with a nod and ducked under the curtain, walking passed Jared and the two boys and told the pilot to start the engine.

When he made his way back, instead of going to sit down next to Black*Star and the girl he brought along he sat next to Jared.

"Are you going to yell at me again?" Jared asked, not looking him in the eyes.

"A word of advice… always look people in the eyes, no matter if they are the enemy or a friend." Pops told him patting his back.

Surprised, Jared sat up straighter and looked him in the eyes, only to see warmth and kindness. "Thanks Pops." He murmured.

"It's dad to you." Pops said and looked across the aisle to where the unconscious boys were sitting. "I guess they could stay at my house until we figure out what to do with them." He murmured. "I'm getting way too old for this. Jared, don't ever scare me the way you did today. You were so close to leaving your old man and a wife and kids behind… family doesn't abandon family Jared." Pops told him.

Jared smiled down at Pops. "I know… that's why I'm here."


	24. Chapter 24

Maka yawned and sat up on her bed. "What day is it today?" she asked Carlo, who was sitting at her desk chair, texting one of his friends.

"The second, why?" Carlo mumbled as he shut his phone and placed it in his pocket, only to have it vibrate again, but he ignored it.

"I have a doctor's appointment to get the cast off at four." Maka said. They had just gotten back from the movies with nothing better to do but to enjoy each other's company at least this silence was a relaxed one.

"Maka… it's three thirty." Carlo said, looking at the clock that hung on Maka's bedroom wall.

Maka's eyes widened. "Damn it! Mama's out getting diapers for Jason!" Maka said to herself.

"I'll take you." Carlo offered.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I don't want to be a bother."

"Naw, it's fine, women don't really know how to drive so I'll take you there." He said with a shrug as he pulled out his cellphone and resumed his conversation with his friend.

Maka glared at him, going to grab the book that was on her desk, only to have her hand swatted away by Carlo. "There is no way in hell I would let you smash my skull in again." He said.

"You have it coming to ya." She huffed.

"I'll take you as long as we could make a pit stop on the way back." Carlo said, going back to his cell phone.

"Sure, whatever, hey could you pass me my hair ties? I haven't had the chance to put my hair up in ponytails for a while now." She said as she pointed to the hair ties on the other end of the desk.

"Your hair looks better down." Carlo said not looking up from his cellphone.

"I don't care, give me my hair ties." Maka demanded, holding out her hand.

Carlo sighed, closed his cellphone and put it in his pocket with one hand and with the other grabbed Maka's hair ties. "These?" he asked her.

"Yeah, those." Maka said, stretching to get them.

Carlo held them a good distance away from her though. "Nope, you aren't getting them." Carlo said, a devilish smile spreading across his face.

"Give them to me Carlo, I am not joking." Maka growled.

"I wonder…" Carlo trailed off as his eyes landed on a plastic and metal item. He reached for the scissors and held them up to the hair ties.

Maka's eyes widened and then turned into a glare. "You wouldn't dare." She growled at him.

"Watch me." He said and with a flick of his wrist, cut the hair ties into two and let them fall to the floor.

Maka watched them fall to the ground and sat there frozen.

"Come on, we have to get going or else you are going to be late to your doctor's appointment." Carlo said, standing up from the chair and walking over to the door way.

"You are so going to pay for that." She growled at him, her fists clenching and unclenching.

"Come on tiny tits, hurry your ass up." Carlo growled.

Maka froze, a cold feeling settling in her stomach. She got up and sprinted to him, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and slamming him up against the wall. "Don't you ever call me that again." She growled at him.

Carlo stared at her wide eyed. "I thought you couldn't walk without your crutch." He mumbled.

"Burst of energy I guess." She mumbled as she let out a breath she realized that she was holding in. "I'm sorry." She mumbled, letting him down.

"It's cool, I guess." Carlo mumbled as he went to go grab her crutch and hand it to her. "Come on, let's go." He said softly, his eyes distant.

"Look, I really am sorry." Maka tried to explain, but Carlo kept quiet as he led her out of the house and across the street where his motorcycle was waiting.

Maka heart stopped for a second when she saw it; it was almost the exact same one that Soul had; only that it was a deep shade of blue instead of orange.

"Maybe we should leave the crutch here." Carlo mumbled as he grabbed the helmet and placed it over Maka's head, fastening it. He grabbed her crutch and went to put it away inside of his house, making sure to lock it once he stepped outside again.

Walking back over he got on and motioned her to get on behind him, but Maka didn't move. "Don't tell me that you are afraid of motorcycles? Don't tell me we have to call a cab like we did earlier." Carlo said.

Maka shook her head and quietly got on the bike, wrapping her arms around Carlo's waist, just like she used to with Soul.

Carlo started the bike and went off, with Maka yelling out instructions as to where her mother told her where the clinic was.

Once they arrived, Carlo helped Maka get off of the bike, parking it, and going inside of the clinic with her. Once Maka told them that she was there, they told her to go have a seat until her name was called.

Carlo sat down next to her, a distant look in his eyes.

"What's wrong Carlo?" Maka asked him.

"You didn't snap because of the hair ties, I know that… but what did I do that made you snap?" he mumbled.

"Just let it go Carlo, it was nothing." Maka said with a huff.

"And then you hesitated when you saw the motorcycle… Maka, I know that you aren't like all the other women I know, that's why I have to ask… what the hell?" he exclaimed, only to get a bunch of glares from the people surrounding them. He quieted down but kept waiting for her answer.

"It's nothing Carlo." Maka repeated.

"Nothing my ass, Maka." He responded.

"Fine, you want to know?" she growled lowly at him.

"Yes, very much." He responded.

"Tiny-tits, was a nickname that only my ex-weapon would call me, my ex-weapon had a motorcycle exactly like yours, only it was orange. I miss my weapon Carlo." She mumbled, looking down at her hands.

"Then why did you leave him?" he asked her. "Don't you woman believe in your 'happily ever after's' and that your 'prince charming' would always come to your rescue?"

Maka gave him a dead smile. "There is no such thing as a happy ending, I should now." Maka murmured.

Carlo looked down at her with a frown. "You aren't normal." was his response.

"I've never been normal." She said with a slight shake of her head.

"That wasn't a real answer though… why did you leave him?" he asked again.

"Maka Albarn!" the nurse called out just as Maka was about to answer him.

"Well, that's me, want to stay out here and wait or are you going to go in there with me?" she asked him, standing up.

"I'll wait for you here." Carlo mumbled.

Maka nodded and began to hobble over to where the nurse was waiting for her, leaving Carlo to wonder what had caused her to leave him. Did he hurt her? Did he choose another meister? Was he not worthy enough? All these different possibilities passed through his mind but he received a text that interrupted his thinking process.

In order to pass the time, he decided he might as well make a deal with this person.

_**-Page Break-**_

"I'm actually glad I wore jeans today." Maka yelled over the roar of the motorcycle.

"Why is that?" Carlo responded, as he stopped at a red light.

"My leg was all hairy! I haven't been able to shave that leg because of the cast!" Maka exclaimed, disgusted.

Carlo let out a small laugh. "I hope you don't mind, but I have to make a small pit stop."

"Yeah, sure." Maka said as the light turned green and they zoomed off again.

Carlo stopped a street ahead. "Wait for me here." He said, turning off the motorcycle and hopping off.

Maka followed him with her eyes, confusion shooting through her as she watched him look both ways and go into an alley.

A few minutes later, Carlo appeared again and walked towards the motorcycle, his hands shoved into his jean pockets and another guy emerging from the alley but heading the other way.

Maka's eye twitched, he better not has done what she thought she did.

Carlo stopped a few feet from the motorcycle when he saw Maka take off the helmet and glare at him. "What?" he asked her.

"You didn't." she growled.

"Didn't what?" he asked her, his eyes widening with innocence mixed with confusion.

"Did you just buy drugs from that guy?" she growled.

"Yeah, so what?" he asked with a shrug as he hopped back on the motorcycle and turned it on.

"How could you be so cool about it?" Maka exclaimed.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked her. "Put the helmet back on Maka." He ordered.

Maka growled at him, but did as she was told. "We are so not done talking about this." She growled at him.

"Whatever." He mumbled as he made their way back to their houses.

When they came down their street, they saw that Pops and Jared were back, but they were carrying something on their shoulders as they entered their homes.

"What are they doing?" Maka asked Carlo, she couldn't see because of the glass that was covering her face.

"Coming back from a job well done." He responded.

"What do you mean?" she asked him.

"I mean that they completed whatever mission they were on, they're carrying dead bodies Maka." Carlo said as he turned off the motorcycle.

Maka took off the helmet and her heart stopped for the second time that day. There was no way that the guy that Pops was carrying into the house could be Soul. It was just a guy that looked terribly close.

Maka took in a deep breath. "I need to go see." She mumbled to herself.

"What was that?" he asked her.

"I need to go talk to Pops." Maka said.

"Hold up, the doctor said to take it easy on the foot." Carlo said. "I'll go get him for you." Carlo told her, getting off of the bike and running across the street to get Pops.

Maka looked at the guy that Pops was carrying, was he twitching?

Pops looked over to Maka and waved and then at Carlo, told him something and walked inside of his house, closing the door, leaving Carlo behind with wide eyes.

"So that was Maka's weapon? What is Pops doing with his body? Did this guy really hurt Maka so much to the point that Pops would go after him and kill him?" Carlo mumbled to himself and turned to look at Maka, the scar on her cheek making it look like she was smiling. "Could he have done that to her?" he whispered to himself.


	25. Chapter 25

"What did he tell you?" Maka asked Carlo as he slowly approached her.

"Nothin', why?" he asked her with a shrug as she handed him his motorcycle helmet and got off the bike.

"Don't put too much weight on your leg there." Carlo told her.

"Sure, could I have my crutch back?" she asked him.

"Why do you need it? You could walk now." Carlo said, shoving his hands into his jean pockets.

"I'm scared to walk okay." Maka mumbled a light blush on her cheeks.

"Just a few hours ago you sprinted towards me and pushed me against a wall." Carlo exclaimed.

"I said I was sorry!" Maka growled.

"Fine, wait here." Carlo grumbled as he walked over to his house, Pops words ringing in his head. _'Don't let her go anywhere near my house. Jared was being careless and dragged Maka's weapon into our lives, I don't want her anymore hurt than she already is because of this boy. We're trying to find out what to do with him.'_

Jared grabbed Maka's crutch and walked back over to her, handing it to her. "Here, take it." he grumbled. "I need to go smoke a joint, see ya tomorrow." Carlo mumbled walking back over to his house only to be pulled back from the collar. "Let go Maka." He warned.

"Nope, we are going to talk about this Carlo." Maka said as she began to hobble in the direction of her house, tugging Carlo along with her.

"You can't have any of my drugs Maka; Jared would kill me if he found out." Carlo told her, letting her drag him inside of the house.

Maka sat him down on the couch and scowled at him as she sat down next to him. "Give me the drugs." Maka said, stretching her hand out.

"Hell no!" Carlo exclaimed, outraged.

"Hand them over!" Maka growled at him.

"No." he said childishly.

"Those things are killing you, Carlo!" Maka growled at him.

Carlo glared at her and stood up, making his way to the door. "Where do you think you're going?" Maka called out.

"Pops is back, I don't have to babysit you anymore." Carlo said coldly before slamming the door shut, leaving behind a stunned Maka.

_**-Page Break-**_

Pops walked into his home, setting Soul down on the couch next to Dagger, it seemed as if Soul was about to wake up. After going to grab some rope he handed some to Jared so that he could help tie up both of the guys that lay unconscious on their sofa. "Well Jared, what now?" Pops asked once they were finished and looked over his shoulder to follow Jared, seeing that he was leaning against the wall.

"Maka loves him you know, killing him would be like killing her." Jared informed him, deep into thought.

"Look, after everything you told me, I understand that I can't kill Soul… but this other boy on the other hand…" Pops trailed off.

"We'll talk about that one later; Soul is the one I'm worried about." Jared murmured, walking over to get a closer look of Soul. "I have an idea." He murmured.

"And what might that be?" Pops asked.

"I don't think you'll like it all that much." Jared muttered.

"Any idea is good right now." Pops muttered.

Jared stayed quiet for a few seconds. "What if we ask him to join the clan?" he muttered.

"And why is that?" Pops asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Think about it Pops, he does know a bit too much information so we might as well tell him everything, that way he could join, Maka would be happy to see him, they kiss and make up and best of all we won't _have_ to kill them." Jared muttered, cupping his chin in a thinking motion.

Pops soaked in the information. "Jared… he attends the school of the enemy." Pops said.

"So did Maka, remember, they were partners." Jared mumbled.

"He isn't anywhere near family though, Maka is Kami's daughter, your wife Kami, so my granddaughter." Pops explained.

"I knew it was a longshot, but it was worth a shot, I just wanted to see Maka happy, not tell her the horrible news of us killing the love of her life." Jared said with a shrug.

"I'm just pointing out the negatives Jared, don't get ahead of yourself, the possibility of him being in the clan is still very much under consideration… but what if he doesn't agree?" Pops asked.

"Then we will have no other choice but to kill him." Jared sighed, sitting down on the couch across from the one that Soul and Dagger were passed out on, Pops sitting next to him.

"Let's think this more thoroughly; he'll be of no use to us if he can't fight." Pops stated.

"I'll taunt him until he snaps and attacks me, how's about that?" Jared asked Pops with an eye roll.

"It'll be good enough for now, but we can't guarantee acceptance into the clan, he has to go through with the initiation if he accepts the offer we give him." Pops stated. "Should we extend the invitation to the other one?" Pops asked, letting Jared take complete control of the situation.

"I don't know." Jared mumbled. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there I guess."

"Jared… you can't be so careless over these kinds of decisions." Pops warned.

Soul groaned and sat up straight, his eyes blinking open.

"Hey, I think he's up." Jared mumbled, standing up to go shake Soul gently. "Hey, you up yet?" Jared asked him.

Soul blinked and looked up at Jared, baring his teeth at him. "What do you want with me?" he growled through his clenched teeth, feeling his arms and legs bound together.

"I have a proposition to offer to you." Jared told him, bending to his knees to look him in the eyes.

"I don't want anything to do with you." Soul spat at him, his arm twitching to turn into a blade… but his curiosity got the best of him as he saw Jared's smirk.

"It has to do with Maka." Jared taunted.

Soul stayed quiet, rather than flipping Jared the bird.

"That's what I thought, now, just so you know… if I tell you this, and you choose not to go through with it, we are going to kill you." Jared said as calmly as he possibly could.

"I see no other way around it then." Soul retorted.

"Very well then…" Jared said as he went to sit next to Pops. "Have you heard of the Star Clan?" Jared started as Pops pulled out one of his cigars from his coat pocket and a lighter with the other.

Bringing the cigar to his mouth, he lit it and took a long drag before letting it out with a puff. "This is going to take a while." He muttered around the cigar as he took another long drag of it. "Jared, taunt him." Pops said under his breath so that only Jared could hear him.

Jared gave him a tight nod. "But first… would you like to know about Maka?" Jared asked Soul.

Soul looked him in the eyes. "What did you mean back there? What did you mean when you said that it would be better if I just left Maka alone?" Soul asked him, grinding his teeth together; his hands balling up.

Jared saw this and let out a small chuckle. "I'm her step-father, Jared." Jared said as he patted Pops' back. "My father is White*Star's brother, Red*Star." Jared told him, a sly grin.

"Red*Star… what does he have to do with Maka?" Soul growled.

"I'd watch that tone if I were you." Pops warned puffing out another ring of smoke.

"This is between your son and me, Mr. Star." Soul said standing up, his arms becoming blades and in the process ripping the rope that bound them together into shreds. He leaned over and ripped the ones that bound his legs together. "Tell me about Maka." Soul demanded.

"So, he's up?" Carlo asked, walking inside of the house, making sure to close the door behind him before going to stand next to the couch, leaning against the wall, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"Who are you?" Soul asked, looking Carlo over.

"My names Carlo, you must be Maka's weapon, the one that caused her all the damage." Carlo growled, his eye twitching in anger.

"What are you talking about?" Soul asked him, trying to calm his anger down. "Where is Maka?" he asked.

"So that you could go and rip her other cheek? So that you could go ahead and mess up her leg just like you did last time? There is no way that I would let you anywhere near Maka." Carlo growled a glow coming from his arm as it turned into a grappling hook.

_**-Page Break-**_

"That guy is so getting a Maka-chop next time I see him." She growled angrily when Carlo had left. She angrily shuffled to her bedroom, opening the door and slamming it shut and falling face first on her bed, shouting angrily into her pillow.

"Maka… are you okay?" she heard a sweet, familiar voice ask her.

Maka froze and sat up to see Tsubaki sitting there on the bed, a worried look on her face.

"No way! Tsubaki!" Maka screeched and pulled her into a tight hug. "I missed you so much!" Maka exclaimed tears in her eyes.

"I missed you too!" Tsubaki said hugging her back.

"Maka, what's wrong?" Black*Star asked her from the door way, a smile lighting up his face.

"Carlo's being stupid." Maka muttered.

"Who's Carlo?" Tsubaki asked her.

"Yeah Maka, who is he?" Black*Star hinted, the smile vanishing.

Maka's eyes widened. "No one important." Maka said quickly.

Tsubaki eyed her while Black*Star slapped his forehead.

"Maka… why don't you come visit us back at Death City? I'm pretty sure that Kilik would love to see you again." Tsubaki said sending her a smile.

"I miss you guys… but I already started a new life here, I don't want to give it up." Maka explained.

"Oh…" Tsubaki muttered, a little down.

"How did you guys get here by the way?" Maka asked them, wanting to change the topic.

"Pops invited me over to see you and your new life for the first time, and I just had to drag Tsubaki along." Black*Star said, plastering a fake smile on his face.

"So Pops brought you guys huh?" Maka said a smile on her face. "Speaking of Pops, I have to go visit him, would you guys like to go with me?" Maka asked.

"I don't want to bo-" Black*Star started but Tsubaki interrupted him.

"Of course, I didn't get the chance to thank him once we got off the plane." Tsubaki said, standing up and helping Maka up.

Black*Star sighed. "He lives next door right Maka? I could have sworn that I saw his car parked there." Black*Star said, hurryingly walking out of the house, not waiting for Maka and Tsubaki, and heading straight next door, pounding on the door and opening it, stepping inside.

"Carlo, there is no time for that stuff now! Maka is on her way with my weapon, we have to hide Soul!" Black*Star exclaimed as he grabbed onto Carlo's grappling hook that was about to swing at Soul.

"Maka's coming?" Soul asked hopefully, as he tried to run past Black*Star and Carlo only to be pulled back by the collar by Jared. "Where could we hide the boys?" Jared asked Pops.

_**-Page Break-**_

"Tsubaki, hold up, where are you going without me?" Maka asked as she stood up but fell back on the bed on 'accident' in order to buy more time for Black*Star, it was the least she could do, she had brought up visiting him.

"Maka hurry up, I don't want Black*Star running all over the place the way he is right now." Tsubaki said, getting a bit jumpy.

Maka frowned. "Well, I'm sorry for having a healing leg." She grumbled.

Tsubaki froze and slapped her forehead. "Oh yeah, I'm sorry Maka, I forgot." She mumbled.

"It's fine Tsubaki. Come here, sit down. It's obvious that you need to let a few things out." Maka said, motioning for Tsubaki to sit next to her on the bed.

Tsubaki looked anxiously at the door and then sighed and sat down next to Maka. "Every time he comes back from these trips he has, he looks at me as if he wants to tell me something… but he doesn't…" Tsubaki started to say.

_**A/N: What do you guys think, a grappling hook is a good weapon for Carlo. I think it matches his personality.**_


	26. Chapter 26

"What does Maka want?" Pops asked Black*Star.

"I don't know, she suggested we come visit you when we were in Jared's house next door." Black*Star told him as he patted Carlo in the back, sending a silent message to him telling him to calm down and transform his weapon back into his arm.

"Why in the world would she do that?" Pops asked.

Carlo slapped his forehead when he remembered that Maka had seen her weapon, at least thought she saw her weapon. "Maybe she's coming to confirm that her weapon isn't dead, that the body that you were carrying wasn't who she thought it was." Carlo said, his eyes sliding over to where Soul was, their eyes meeting.

"Let go! I need to talk to Maka!" Soul growled stomping on Jared's foot making Jared let go of him out of surprise and before the others could do anything about it, Soul ran out the front door. "Black*Star had mentioned the house next door." He mumbled and looked over to the house on the left side to see that the3 door was hanging wide open, that had to be it, Black*Star was in such a rush, he must have forgotten to close the door.

Soul rushed over there only to be tackled down a few feet away from the door. "You should have forgotten about her when you had the chance." Carlo hissed.

Soul brought his scythe up to push Carlo off but it was met by Carlo's grappling hook.

"I'm going to tear those red eyes of yours right out." Carlo growled but was pulled off of Soul by Black*Star.

"You may be family, but there is no way that I am going to let you kill my friend." Black*Star growled, throwing Carlo onto the ground behind him.

Carlo landed with a thud. "After all the damage that he has done to Maka and you just leave him alone?" Carlo exclaimed.

"I'm not sure if he was the one that did all the damage Carlo!" Black*Star exclaimed, pissed beyond belief.

"Were you there when he hurt Maka?" Carlo questioned.

Soul stood up, his scythe turning back to his arm as made his way to the doorway of the house not wanting to hear the end of the conversation.

Jared and Pops ignored the two fighting cousins outside and silently followed Soul into the house, wanting to know what would happen once Soul and Maka reunite.

Soul silently walked down the halls and tried to pay close attention to any sort of noise that he hears.

"What about you Maka? How has your life been since you moved here?" Soul heard Tsubaki ask.

There was a small pause and Souls heart thudded, he was finally going to be able to see Maka again.

"Interesting actually..." Soul heard Maka trail off and he followed the voice to a nearby door.

"What's your definition of interesting?" Tsubaki asked.

"Just that-" Maka began but a knock at her door stopped her.

"Must be Black*Star." Tsubaki muttered.

"Come in!" Maka said as she lay back on her bed, closing her eyes.

Tsubaki watched with wide eyes as Soul came in. "What are you doing here… and what happened to your cheek?" Tsubaki exclaimed.

Maka stayed quiet thinking it was Black*Star and Tsubaki was just scolding him.

Soul managed to take his eyes away from Maka and looked at Tsubaki. "It's a long story." He said.

Maka froze and her hands turned into fists… there is no way that that could be who she thought it was… no way…

Tsubaki looked between Soul and Maka and sighed. "I'll be back later Maka." She told her but Maka was in shock, she wasn't able to respond.

Maka didn't dare open her eyes when she heard the door close, her heart started to speed up when she felt a dip in her bed next to her. Her breathing stopped as soon as a finger started to trace the scar that was on her cheek.

"Maka, look at me." Soul whispered looking down at her.

Maka didn't open her eyes. "I told you to never come anywhere near me." Maka growled, not opening her eyes.

"I know." He said, his hand going to weave through her hair.

"I told you I hated you." she growled again, rolling to her side.

"I know." Soul repeated as he stared at her back, pulling his hand away from her.

"Then why are you here?" Maka growled.

"Because I know what you said was a lie." Soul said calmly.

"I told you that I didn't want to be your meister." Maka stated.

"I know."

"I called you an annoying brat."

"I know."

"I called you selfish."

"I know."

"I told you to move on with your life." Maka said.

"And I tried, but I couldn't." Soul told her.

Maka sat up and opened her eyes to look at him, but she froze when she saw the scar on his cheek, she wanted to ask him what the hell had happened, but she didn't want him to know she still cared. "Get out." She finally said after a few minutes of silence.

"Maka… you once told me that you loved me, and I know that you still do. Maka look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't love me anymore." Soul told her.

Maka looked him straight in the eyes for a few more minutes, she missed him but it wasn't worth the risk of Blair going after him. "I…" she started but she couldn't finish it. Maka looked down at her hands. "Get out Soul." She whispered.

Before Jared and Pops, who were eavesdropping on Soul and Maka, could stop him, Carlo rushed passed them and into Maka's room. "Get away from my girlfriend." Carlo growled, speaking the first thing that came to his head.

Maka's eyes widened. Soul's jaw tightened, and Pops cigar fell out of his fingers and onto the ground.

"What?" Jared exclaimed.

Carlo ignored him and kept glaring at Soul.

"What did you just call her?" Soul growled standing up, his whole body seething.

"My girlfriend, do you have a problem with that?" Carlo growled at him taking another step forward.

Souls arm transformed into the blade of his scythe as he took a step towards Carlo. "Take that back." He growled.

"Why should I?" Carlo growled as he swung his grappling hook at him, the rope attached to his shoulder extending. Two of the hooks attaching themselves to Soul's scythe arm and Carlo gave a yank back, liking the sound of metal scratching metal.

Soul winced in pain, but gritted his teeth to keep his groan in. With his other hand, he reached over and yanked the grappling hook off of the scythe, throwing it back at Carlo and it bounced off his chest with such force that Carlo went flying back against the wall.

Soul's arm reappeared and he walked over to where Carlo was struggling to breathe again. Soul reached down and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, slamming him against the wall, a death glare settling in both of their eyes.

"Let go of me." Carlo growled at him between breaths.

"Not until you pay for taking her away from me." Soul growled slamming him against the wall again forming a small crack on the wall that kept growing with every hit against it.

"That is enough!" Pops growled, stomping on his cigar to put it out.

Carlo was starting to see stars, but that didn't stop him from kicking Soul in the stomach, sending him flying next to Maka; Carlo fell against the wall, taking deep breaths as Soul rolled over so that he was looking at the ceiling, trying to catch the breath that was knocked out of him.

"Jared, help Carlo up, I'm sure there is a lot of things you want to ask him." Pops ordered but didn't take his eyes off of Soul.

Maka sat down next to him and helped him sit up.

"As for you two… we have some serious talking to do." Pops said once Jared had helped Carlo out of the room and closed the door behind them.

_**A/N: So they finally see each other again!**_


	27. Chapter 27

"Let's head over to my house, I left the other boy unattended and I don't want him pulling the card that Soul pulled a few minutes ago." Pops said motioning them to follow him.

Maka silently helped Soul up and without looking back at him, followed Pops through the house and out the door, Soul following them closely.

"Why is he here Pops?" Maka growled once they were inside of his home.

"He was a witness and Black*Star didn't want to kill him so we had very little choice left. I brought him here." Pops responded as he closed the door behind them and went to sit down on the sofa. "Have a seat Maka…. Soul… that is your name correct?" Pops asked.

"Yeah, my name is Soul." He muttered sitting down next to Maka on the couch where Dagger was starting to move a little.

"Alright then Soul, tell me when all this trouble started for you two." Pops said.

Soul looked at Maka and then at Pops. "If it is all right with you, I would prefer that Maka tell her side of the story first."

"It is fine, Maka, do you mind?" Pops asked her.

Maka put on a tight smile and took in a deep breath. "Well for me it started a while back…" she started and trailed off… if she told him the truth Blair would defiantly hurt him, she didn't want that to happen to him. "Pops… I don't think I can talk… not with Soul here."

Pops blinked but before he could respond to her, Soul responded. "Why not Maka?" Soul asked her.

Maka looked him in the eyes and there was nothing more that she wanted to do than to pull him into a hug… but she couldn't. "Because if I do tell you you would be in so much danger." Maka told him, this wasn't telling him about Blair.

Soul stared at her, if she was concerned about his safety that shows that she does care for him. A small smile graced his face.

"Maka, you do realize that you are part of one of the strongest clans out there. If you want Soul to be safe, we could all take turns making sure that that happens. After all, if he doesn't agree to join the clan then we will have to kill him. So technically, he is going to be one of us whether he wants to or not." Pops informed her.

Maka stared at him as her head shook slowly. "No… I won't let that happen." Maka growled.

"Maka, you don't really have a say in this." Pops said.

"No! No, he cannot join!" Maka growled, furious. She stood up and was about to jump at Pops but she was pulled back by Soul.

"It's alright Maka, I mean, if you are in it that it can't be all that bad." Soul reasoned sending a smile her way.

"No Soul, you don't understand there are things that you don't know, there are things even I don't know… I don't want you to join." Make told him, her hand settling on his shoulder. Maka turned to look at Pops. "Who was the smart-ass that came up with this idea?" Maka growled.

"Language Maka, and watch your tone when you are talking to me." Pops responded as he took in a deep breath.

"Well?" Maka asked after a few seconds of deep breathing to calm herself down.

"Relax Maka." Soul told her, his hand going to rub soothing circles on her back.

"Jared was the one that decided not to kill Soul Maka. He did it with you in mind. He knew you would be heartbroken if you found out that we had killed him, so he came up with the next best thing. That way you two would be closer than ever. You should thank him Maka." Pops stated as he reached into his pocket and grabbed his lighter and a cigar.

"But what about Blair?" Maka growled at him.

"The tone Maka." Pops warned her as he lit his cigar.

"So Blair is the real reason that you left me." Soul muttered.

"Not now Soul." Maka told him and turned her attention back to Pops. "Look Pops, I really don't think that having him join the clan is such a good idea." Maka stated.

"I noticed." Pops said and then pulled out a gun and slid it across the floor. It stopped near Maka's feet. "Would you do the honors of getting rid of him then?" he asked.

Soul tensed as he saw Maka pick up the gun. "I don't fancy the idea of killing him either." Maka said through clenched teeth as she slid it across the floor back to him.

"You want me to do it then?" Pops asked her as he put his lighter back in his pocket and puffed out a cloud of smoke.

"I don't want anyone to kill him." She told him.

"Then you have no other choice but to let him join Maka." Pops stated as he reached to grab his gun and put it away in to his other pocket.

Maka sighed in frustration and tried to relax as Soul rubbed her back.

"Fine… but he stays near me. We have to find out what to do with the cat." Maka growled.

Soul felt happy for the first time since Maka had left him. He let his arm go around and hook over her shoulder and Maka let him.

Pops eyed the hand on her shoulder and smirked. "Maka, why don't you tell me when you and Carlo started to go out?" he asked her.

Soul stiffened and his hand tightened around her shoulder.

Maka winced and elbowed his stomach, a sign to tell him to calm down. "I don't know where he came up with such a stupid thing." She mumbled, a blush spreading through her cheeks.

"There is one thing that I forgot to tell you… Jared isn't your weapon anymore, I reassigned you so that Carlo is your weapon, I've been meaning to tell you but it kept slipping out of my mind. I talked with Jared before he left to kill the cat." Pops said with a small chuckle as he watched Maka's shocked face and Soul start to twitch in anger.

"I could always become her weapon again." Soul rushed.

"It's nothing against you Soul, but I don't know you enough to trust you like I do Carlo, plus the decision has already been made. Sorry." Pops said with another huff of smoke.

Maka sighed and patted Souls hand in hope to get him to loosen his grip on her shoulder and once he did, she turned to Pops. "Anyways, what happened, did he kill the cat?" she asked him.

"Nope, the idiot didn't take backup and he failed miserably." Pops told her.

"So Blair is still out there?" she asked him.

"Yep. I advise you to be extra careful if you are going to drag this one along with you, I will assign someone to be with you at all times so that we won't take any chances." Pops told her with a tight nod.

"Okay." She murmured.

_**-Page Break-**_

"What the hell was that about?" Jared exclaimed slamming his fist on his desk.

This didn't affect Carlo, who was sitting on the other side of the desk. "What do you mean?" he asked him.

"You know damn well what I mean." He growled.

"Actually, no I don't, could you please clarify?" he asked him with a small yawn.

Jared's right eye twitched out of anger. "Girlfriend? Really? When the hell did this happen?" he growled.

"Oh that thing." Carlo muttered and a smirk appeared. "It never did, I just don't like the white haired boy." Carlo said with a shrug

"Carlo… his name is Soul." Jared said falling into the seat behind his desk.

"I don't really give a damn; I don't want him anywhere near Maka." Carlo stated with a bored expression on his face.

"Not everyone gets what they want Carlo." Jared told him.

"Yeah, well, this is the guy that hurt Maka both physically and emotionally. As her step father I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want him anywhere near her either." Carlo told him.

"He is a good kid, I'm glad Maka and him will have the chance at being back together again." Jared told him.

Carlo glared at him. "I don't want Maka to be hurting again, I don't want her to suffer the way I do." He growled.

"Look, we all understand where you are coming from Carlo, but I honestly do believe that this is in best interest for Maka." Jared told him.

"Maka is going to end up hurt because of all of this and you know it." Carlo responded.

"Carlo, you are just making wild assumptions." Jared exclaimed.

"Whatever, did you just want to yell at me or did you want to talk to me about something?" Carlo asked him.

"You're Maka's weapon now." Jared told him.

Carlo stared at him for what seemed like a few minutes. "Come again?" he asked.

"After talking about it with Pops before I left for my mission, we decided that you were the best option as a weapon for her. So you are her weapon now." Jared told him. "Now get out of my office." Jared said pointing to the door.

Quietly, Jared stood up, gave a little bow in Jared's direction out of custom and left the home to walk across the street and into his home in silence. "I can't believe it… I'm her weapon." He muttered, wide eyed in shock.


	28. Chapter 28

Blair smirked. "So you are Maka's weapon now?" she purred in her cat form as she jumped in through the open window of Carlo's house.

Carlo stared at her. "You talk? What are you even doing here?" Carlo questioned as he went to shoo her back out the window but she stepped behind him before he could and transformed into her human form.

"You know, it's rude to shoo away a guest." Blair said as she walked over to sit on the living room couch.

Carlo eyed her. "It's rude to barge into strangers houses." He stated.

"I know that's why I wanna change that. You like Maka, I can tell." Blair said as she looked around the room.

"Get out." Carlo said, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her to the door.

"Aren't you wondering how I know this?" Blair pouted at him.

"Of course, but at the same time I don't want to know." Carlo said as he was about to open the door.

"I see how much you hate my Souly-kins; you want him out of the picture. I could do that for you." Blair told him.

Carlo froze, his hand on the door handle, his interest spiking to unnatural levels. "I'm listening." he said as he let go of her arm, his stance relaxing a bit.

"You and I both want the same things, someone to love." Blair began.

"I don't need to love anyone." Carlo stated, his interest gone as he began to twist the door knob.

"I've seen the way you look at Maka, you love her." Blair insisted.

"I just met her a few days ago! There is no way that I'm in love with her." He growled at her.

"Then explain the jealousy that you felt when Soul came into the picture again." Blair said a smirk gracing her face. "Explain the joy you felt when you found out that she is your meister."

"It's just a crush, nothing more." He growled at her.

"Oh, but that is where you are wrong my friend. Why do you think that you want to kill my Souly-kins so badly? You even called Maka your girlfriend and you got yelled at for it." Blair said her hands going to Carlo's shoulders and began to rub them so that he could calm down.

Carlo puffed our air. "I'm over protective I guess." He said through clenched teeth.

"That too I guess. You know, I tend to be jealous too… I love my Souly-kins, and you love Maka… but they do have some sort of liking towards each other that I'm sure neither of us agrees with that." Blair whispered into his ear as she dragged him back to the couch and sat him down.

"I guess so." Carlo muttered as Blair turned into a cat and sat on his lap.

"So, why don't we work together to drive them apart?" Blair suggested, cuddling into his stomach.

Carlo stayed quiet… he may not be in love, but as Maka's weapon, he has to make sure that she stays safe and unhurt… heartbroken is a way of being hurt right?

"Alright then… what's your name?" he asked her.

"My name is Blair, what is yours?" she purred.

"Carlo."

_**-Page Break-**_

"Alright, we'll do the initiation tonight at midnight. By the way, Soul, who is this kid?" Pops asked, pointing to the body next to Soul.

Soul looked at Dagger. "A class mate, why?"

"Just wondering." Pops answered as he took another drag of his cigar.

"He's the school bully, he would always push me around and humiliate me in front of the school but-" Soul was interrupted by the sound of the cocking of a gun. His head snapped up to see Pops holding the gun and pointing it at the other boy.

"Don't worry Soul, when someone messes with our family, they are dead meat." Pops said.

"Hold up! I wasn't finished! I need him so that he could teach me to be my own meister!" Soul exclaimed, coming up with something from the top of his head.

"That's easy! Jared could show you." Pops said not putting the gun down.

"He's a double weapon though; he could actually be quite useful for whatever battles you need." Soul suggested quickly.

Pops let out a dark chuckle. "Not even in the clan yet and you're here making suggestions." Pops said not lowering the gun.

"Pops!" Maka exclaimed, breaking out of her silent trance.

"That's a good thing Maka, I like this kid already." Pops said chuckling. "Are you sure you don't want me to get rid of him for ya?" he asked Soul.

"Positive." Soul said.

"Alright then, but you and Maka will have to be in charge of him. He'll be a prisoner, he won't join the clan." Pops stated. "Now, you two have guests to attend, am I correct?" Pops asked them.

"Tsubaki! I forgot!" Maka exclaimed, getting up quickly, pulling Soul to his feet and dragging him out the door.

"Hold on there, you're forgetting something." Pops said assed he puffed out a cloud of smoke.

Maka looked back to see him pointing at the boy.

"How are we going to explain him to Tsubaki?" Maka exclaimed.

"He's your responsibility, not mine." Pops said with a shrug.

Maka sighed and walked back over to where the guy was, Soul following closely behind. "Alright, um, how about he passed out from a hangover?" Soul asked remembering how drunk Dagger could get.

"Sure, whatever, he's your cousin now." Maka growled as she threw the boys arm around her shoulder and Soul did the same, they both worked to get him out of the house and walked next door.

"Where do you think Tsubaki and Black*Star are?" Maka asked as she led the two boys to her room.

The boy in the middle of them groaned. "That hurt." He muttered when they dropped him on the ground of Maka's room.

"Soul, who exactly is he?" Maka asked him as she walked over to her desk to sit down, needing to let her leg rest.

"Dagger Nelson, jerk of the school. Made my life a living hell, gave me this scar too." Soul told her, pointing to his cheek.

Maka blinked up at him and sent him a small smile. "If it helps it makes you look more mysterious." Maka told him.

"A bit too much if you ask me." Dagger growled from the ground, trying to ignore the pounding in his head. "Where are we Soul?" Dagger asked.

"Well, we're at my friend's house." Soul told him with a small shrug.

"What are we doing at your friend's house?" he asked him.

"You're lucky to be alive, if it weren't for Soul, Pops would have blown your brains out." Maka said as she opened one of the drawers in the desk and pulled out a few hair ties that were not cut by Carlo and set them down on the desk as she closed the drawer and sat up to look Carlo in the eyes.

"Tell me you're joking, I do not owe my life to this guy." Dagger said his eyes widened in shock.

"Trust me, from what he told us about you, I would have blown out your brains myself. I'm shocked that Soul didn't let you die, I mean, now we have to be your babysitters. So don't go and do something that will make me regret not stepping in and shutting Soul up so that Pops could kill you." Maka warned him as she put her hair up in her pony tails.

Carlo blinked and looked up at Soul. "Why?" he asked.

"I don't know; letting him kill you was sinking down to your level I guess. I have a feeling that you would have let me die if it were up to you." Soul spat at him and went to sit down on Maka's bed but froze when he saw the star on her neck. "Maka, what the hell did you do to your skin?" Soul exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Maka asked him.

Soul jabbed at the tattoo, making Maka howl in pain. "Don't touch it! It's still a little sensitive!" Maka growled slapping his hand away.

"Why did you do this?" Soul asked her.

"It's something you have to do once you are part of the clan Soul, they're gonna make you do one too you know." Maka told him. "Now, come on, we have to fins Tsubaki and Black*Star." She said but halted and turned to look at Dagger who was still on the ground. "You stay here at least until we come back, you're lucky my room has a bathroom." Maka said pointing to the door on the other side of the room. "And by the way, if you go through my stuff, you are so dead." She growled at him and latched her hand onto Soul's arm, dragging him out of the room and went to look for Tsubaki and Black*Star.


	29. Chapter 29

"Maka, we have been going around in circles around the whole block. Maybe we should stop and ask if anyone has seen them." Soul asked as he yanked on her hand to stop her.

That's when they heard it.

Pops door flew open and Tsubaki ran out of there.

"Tsubaki!" Maka called out letting go of Soul's hand and running over to throw her arms around the running weapon, stopping her in the middle of the streets.

"Tsubaki! What's wrong?" Maka asked her a worried look passing through her face.

Tsubaki gulped and looked up at her with a terrified look on her face. "The Star Clan." She murmured.

Maka froze and stared up at her. "What are you talking about?" she asked her.

"I thought he had gotten that tattoo for the heck of it, he never told me he was born with it… all this time." Tsubaki began to hyperventilate.

"Tsubaki, get a hold of yourself! What is going on?" she asked her, shaking her a little bit.

Tsubaki looked Maka in the eyes. "The Star Clan is back… I have to warn my family." She whispered.

Maka was confused. "What?" she asked.

"Maka, my family assisted the DWMA with the clearing of the Star Clan. I was a weapon of a Star Clan member Maka… I fell in love with one of them! My head is going to roll for this." She muttered.

Maka took a few steps away from Tsubaki, blinking in astonishment. "Tsubaki…" she muttered and then shook out of her daze. "I respect you, you know that right." She started as she slowly wrapped her arms around Tsubaki's waist.

"Maka?" she muttered.

"You are a good friend, and now, I'm going to repay you for all that you have done for me in the past. Just remember that word of the Star Clan may not go out." She whispered in her ear.

"Maka?" Tsubaki said again, a bit of an edge in her voice.

Maka stepped away from her and grabbed onto her hand. "Follow me, I have to give you a few things before you go." Maka muttered, pulling her back towards her house, Soul silently following them.

Maka rushed to her bedroom, she didn't know how long she had to get Tsubaki out of there, so she had to make this quick.

"Soul, you stay here with Dagger while I go and drive Tsubaki to the airport, I'll be back in an hour." Maka growled as she reached under her bed to grab a shoe box filled with her allowance that she has been collecting since she was little.

"Maka… are you sure this is a good idea. She knows." Soul murmured, going to close the door so that no one could see that Tsubaki was with them.

"She's my friend, I don't want her dead." Maka hissed.

"But if she escapes, what will they do to you for betraying them?" Soul asked her. "You have to think this through Maka." Soul told her as he leaned against the door.

Tsubaki's eyes widened when she put one and one together. "But… Maka would never join the Star Clan. Maka, tell me he's joking." Tsubaki said and her heart completely stopped when she saw the star tattoo on the back of Maka's neck. "Maka… why?" she asked.

Maka stayed quiet and she dumped out all her twenties on the bed.

Dagger let out a whistle when he saw all the cash. "Dinner time." He muttered standing up.

"It's not for you, it's for Tsubaki. She needs to go back to Death City in the first flight out of here." Maka growled, picking them up one by one to form one nice stack of money and then standing up and handing them to Tsubaki.

Tsubaki looked down at Maka, her eyes gone cold. "Maka… you do know that I'm going to tell my family and the DWMA about this right?" Tsubaki asked.

Maka looked into Tsubaki's eyes. "And I'll be ready. Just give me a chance to connect with the rest of the family." Maka said and walked around her to open the door. "I'll give you Jared's car keys. If you hurry, you should make it to the airport before Pops has the chance to tell the others."

_**-Page Break-**_

"Tsubaki!" Black*Star called out as she ran out of the house.

Pops grabbed Black*Star by the collar and yanked him back. Pops was absolutely seething. "Why the hell did you not tell me that she was a Nakatsukasa?" Pops growled.

"Let me go." Black*Star growled.

"Why the hell would you have her as a weapon?" Pops growled as he threw Black*Star to the other side of the room.

Black*Star hit the wall with a thud; he let out a pained groan and winced when he hit the ground.

Pops pulled down the sleeve that he had rolled up earlier to show Tsubaki what they were. "Her family is the one that brought down your father and his side of the Clan." Pops growled. "Have you no dignity boy?" Pops growled pulling Black*Star back up only to turn around and throw him across the room once more.

Black*Star hit the other wall and fell onto a nearby table, trying to keep his groans of agony inside.

"Is this why you never wanted me to meet her? Huh? Because she's the fucking enemy?" Pops shouted at him, not being able to control himself any longer.

Black*Star was having trouble breathing; he got up and started to crawl for the door.

"Get up Black*Star. You're just like Jared when he was your age, weak, but I was able to make him a man, I was able to make him stronger, he had to go through worse things than you." Pops growled. "I'm gonna call the others and have that weapon of yours killed. One less to worry about." Pops growled as he stomped off into the other room.

"Have to warn Tsubaki." Black*Star muttered as he got up, painfully slow and quietly left the house, trying to look for Tsubaki.

"Black*Star!" Maka exclaimed as she walked out Jared's car, Tsubaki following her.

Black*Star looked over and walked over to them, his hand clutching his torso, thinking that he might have a broken rib.

"Tsubaki, I need to talk to you." Black*Star called out walking in their direction as fast as he could.

"Black*Star take care of Tsubaki." Maka muttered, handing him the money and the keys and giving him a small hug before pushing him into the passenger seat of the car. Maka looked over at Tsubaki and was about to say something but she was interrupted.

"Maka! Get away from the enemy!" Carlo called out, hanging up on Pops and tucking his phone in his pocket, closing the door of his house behind him.

Tsubaki looked at Maka. "I'll be back soon for you." she whispered, tears in her eyes as she quickly jumped into the driver's seat, taking the keys from a surprised Black*Star and took off.

Carlo growled, his hand turning into a grappling hook and he flung it before the car went too out of range. The hook crashed through the drivers side of the window and almost hooked onto Tsubaki.

A shot run in the car and Dagger howled in pain, retracting the bleeding hook. "God damn it Black*Star." He growled as the car turned the corner.

"Carlo!" Maka called out, running over to him, her legs starting to wobble.

"Get Frank, he's the doctor of the clan." Carlo said through clenched teeth as the grappling hook turned back into his arm. There was a glowing bullet slowly vanishing from the little cave it left in Carlo's arm.

"I'll get Pops, I don't know where Frank lives." She muttered running towards Pops house.

Tsubaki was staring straight ahead not bothering to brush off the broken glass. "What was that?" she murmured.

Black*Star looked up at her. "Tsubaki… I'm a weapon." He muttered as the shot gun turned back into his arm.

_**A/N: I hope there aren't as many mistakes in this one! XD Anyways, Christmas break is about a week away! Can't wait! Don't forget to review people!**_


	30. Chapter 30

Soul glared at the ground, finding nothing better to do other than banging his head at the wall, but he got a scowl from Dagger by doing that.

"Alright, I bite, what's eating you?" Dagger growled sitting up on the bed to look down at Soul who was sitting against the wall.

"What do you think? I'm not out there with her! I need to find a way for Red*Star to let me be her weapon, I need to be on his good side." Soul muttered.

"You're talking about the chick that lives here?" Dagger asked him.

Soul glared up at him. "Who else would I be talking about?" he growled.

"Chill, dude, I'm just making sure." Dagger grumbled spinning around on the bed so that his back was to Soul and then falling back and letting his head dangle over the edge so that Soul was upside down.

"Sorry." Soul grumbled with a sigh. "What do you think I should do?" he asked.

"Defiantly defy what this chick told you to do and go after her, I bet that that will make her like you." Dagger said trying to hold back a smile.

"Now I know you hate me. If I did that than I would just be asking to be on her bad side." He mumbled, trying to think.

"Don't think about it right now Soul. Tell me… how exactly _did_ you drag me into this mess?" he asked, crossing his arms but didn't sit up from his position.

Soul looked at him. "I was just trying to find out where Maka was. I was trying to find her, I wanted to be part of her life again, and I wanted to find out the exact reason as to why I was kicked out of it in the first place. So when I saw the opportunity, I jumped at it and refused to let go of it." Soul said, his fist clenching at the memory.

"That's all fine and dandy, but you failed to tell me how I got sucked into the mess that is your life." Dagger stated, a slight glare settling in his eyes.

Soul glared up at him. "You were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. They weren't going to let you escape because you saw too much, so they had to bring you along for the ride. Hell, I bet they are going after the nurse that attended Jared, the guy that broke into the school before you did, and Mr. Law, just because they saw Jared." Soul muttered.

"Was it really that hard to just spit out why I was here?" Dagger asked him with a roll of his eyes.

"Shut up Dagger." Soul growled, glaring daggers at the ground as he fiddled with his fingers.

Dagger sighed and sat up, spinning around so that he was facing Soul. "Alright then, I obviously need to know the whole story as to how this started so start 'fessing up." Dagger said, standing up and going to sit next to Soul.

Soul stayed quiet as he started to collect his thoughts. "This is all my fault." He muttered.

"I asked for a story, not a guilt trip." Dagger told him.

"I was a dumb ass." Soul muttered.

"I noticed that the day I first saw you Soul, but this girl, Maka right? Anyways, this girl doesn't seem all that shallow, so I'm guessing… she liked you and you broke her heart without knowing it?" he asked Soul.

"You don't know the half of it." Soul groaned, letting his head hang.

"And then you noticed that without this chick, you don't really have much of a life?"

Soul nodded and sighed. "I fucked a chick while Maka tried to sleep in the room across the hallway." Soul groaned.

Dagger stared at him for a few seconds and the lifted his hand slowly over their heads only to let it slam down on Soul's head.

"Ow! What the hell?" Soul growled.

"You don't deserve Maka." He responded, shaking his head.

"It was way too much temptation!" Soul exclaimed.

"If you really loved her, you guys wouldn't be in this situation!" Dagger growled.

"Why do you care?" Soul exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head where Daggers hand had slammed down.

"Hello? It was because of your stupid decisions that I ended up where I am!" Dagger responded.

"Well, if only you hadn't pushed me around like you did before." Soul yelled at him.

Dagger stayed quiet and bowed his head. "I'm sorry if I hurt you back then." he mumbled.

Soul stared at Dagger in shock. "Really?" he asked.

"Hell no! That was so much fun, all the trouble you dragged me into was worth it." Dagger said as he let out a laugh.

Soul's shocked expression fell and turned into a bored one. "Whatever." He muttered as he sat back against the wall again.

"You walked right into that one, you should know better by now." Dagger said once he was done laughing.

"Just shut up." Soul muttered.

_**-Page Break-**_

"Maka, hold up!" Carlo exclaimed, not letting go of the arm he was cradling.

"Pops! Carlo just got shot at! He said to get Frank but I don't know where Frank lives, and well, to be honest, I don't think I even know the guy, I really do need to connect more with the family." Maka rambled on after bursting in through the front door, Carlo following her closely behind.

Pops didn't even pay attention to her; he was on the phone, calling everyone in the family. "Yes, our family is at risk, we have to prepare, make out weakest links stronger." He growled into the phone.

Maka shook out of her little ramble and went up to Pops, but Carlo stopped her. "Come on Maka, he lives on the other side of the street. Pops is busy right now." Carlo said, ignoring the pain in his arm.

Maka nodded and followed him out the door and across the street to the house next to Carlo's.

"Does everyone live on this block?" Maka mumbled.

"You didn't know? This whole block is Star Clan property." Carlo said through clenched teeth as he rang the doorbell.

"Oh." Maka mumbled.

_**A/N: It is 2 in the morning! Wow, I'm not tired at all… anyways, sorry I haven't uploaded in a while, I was just sick during the beginning of the week, and for the rest of it I was a busy bee all over the place. I'm planning on making a Christmas fic on both Invader Zim and Soul Eater, I just don't know how to start them off so they may be a little late. If I don't get to say this later, I'll say it now… MERRY CHRISTMAS! X)**_


	31. Chapter 31

"You're not a meister?" Tsubaki exclaimed.

"No, but you have to understand, I couldn't tell anyone, the DWMA was not supposed to find out that I am a weapon! The only way the DWMA was going to know that I was a weapon was when we attack them." Black*Star exclaimed.

Tsubaki ground her teeth together, her hands tightening around the wheel. "Just shut up Black*Star. I am mad at you right now." Tsubaki stated.

"But-" Black*Star started but Tsubaki quickly brought her elbow down on his already broken rib.

Black*Star hugged his torso as he grunted in pain. "Yep; something is defiantly wrong in there." He mumbled to himself.

Tsubaki refused to take her eyes off of the road as she drove. "Why?" she asked him.

Black*Star looked up at her. "What?" he asked her.

"Why did you never tell me?" she asked him silently as she looked in the rear view mirror to see a bunch of cars rapidly catching up to them.

"Tell you what?" he asked and then he noticed the cars. "You might want to speed up Tsubaki." He warned.

"It would help if I had an actual idea as to where we were going. I have no idea where the airport is." Tsubaki hissed at him.

"Turn here, quick!" Black*Star exclaimed, pointing to the right, making Tsubaki take a sharp turn.

"Pass me your phone Black*Star, I need to make a call." Tsubaki said as she ran through a red light, a bunch of cars stopping and honking their horns.

"Concentrate on driving Tsubaki, they're catching up." Black*Star told her.

"Black*Star, there is a chance that neither of us won't make it out of this alive, I need to call my dad." Tsubaki stated with her head held high, power ringing in her voice.

This was a Tsubaki that Black*Star had never seen before. "Tsubaki…" he started. "Why are you giving up?" he asked her.

"I'm not giving up; I'm giving my family the upper hand." Tsubaki told as she looked in the rear view mirror to see that two of the cars were gone, they were probably planning on cornering her. "It's your family against me, Black*Star. If they capture me, they will torture me to get information, or even worse… use me as bait. I don't want that Black*Star." Tsubaki told him.

Black*Star kept quiet as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "You're wrong Tsubaki… It's my family against us… always us, never doubt that." He muttered as he passed her the phone.

Tsubaki nodded at him, sending him a small smile. "Hold onto the wheel." She said as she grabbed the phone and dialed her dad's number.

Black*Star grabbed the wheel and listened to the conversation.

"Dad, it's me Tsubaki… I don't have time for that right now, listen, the Star Clan, its back, I want you to save Maka, the death scythes daughter… I have no chance of surviving this… thank you… I love you." her voice quivered as she hung up and let the phone fall in her lap, her hands going to replace Black*Stars.

"Tsubaki, why are you giving up on me?" Black*Star asked her.

"I have no other choice Black*Star. Put your seat belt on, I'm gonna crash the car." Tsubaki growled as she undid her seatbelt. She looked out the window to see that the two cars were further ahead of them, blocking the road a whole bunch of cars honking their horns at them. Two other cars were racing behind Tsubaki, expecting her to stop.

"Tsubaki, put your seat belt on." Black*Star told her in a last effort to keep her from doing what she was about to do.

Tsubaki looked down at Black*Star, tears rolling down her eyes as she sped up. "I have no other choice Black*Star." She whispered. "You're a weapon right?" she asked.

Black*Star's eyes widened. "I won't do it Tsubaki." He told her.

"Black*Star, please, don't make me suffer. A bullet through the head is all it takes." Tsubaki said, not taking her eyes off of the fast approaching cars.

When they saw that Tsubaki wasn't planning on stopping, the drivers got out of the cars and jumped to the sidewalk and waited.

"Black*Star! Do it now!" Tsubaki pleaded.

"Tsubaki, I can't do that! Don't make me do it!" Black*Star exclaimed.

"Black*Star, I love you! Please, don't make me die slowly." Tsubaki pleaded as they got nearer to thee two parked cars in front of them.

Black*Star's arm turned into a shot gun. "I love you too." He whispered as he pointed to her head, tears in his own eyes. It was for the best.

Tsubaki closed her eyes tightly. "Thank you." she muttered.

Black*Star closed his own eyes and a few seconds later, he killed his own weapon right before they crashed into the two cars causing them to come to a sudden halt, sending Tsubaki out through the windshield, and onto the hood of the car, broken glass tearing through her skin. A few seconds later the air bags popped out.

Black*Star was jolted forward but nothing major happened to him. He transformed his arm back to normal and stared out to nowhere in particular, his mind going blank… he just killed his weapon… he just killed Tsubaki… he just killed his best friend.

"Black*Star! Is that you? Are you alright?" one of the Star Clan members, James, asked as he ran to the side of the car, yanking open the door to look at Black*Star.

"I did what I had to do." Was all he managed to say.

He heard sirens off in the distance and he looked at Tsubaki. Nothing could have saved her… she's better off this way, but he couldn't get that to stick in his head. He kept blaming himself… what if he didn't need to kill her?

"Black*Star, we're gonna get you on a stretcher, the police is going to arrest two of the guys, but don't worry, we're going to pull a few strings and they're going to be free in a few hours." James explained.

"Put Tsubaki on the stretcher." Black*Star whispered.

"Black*Star, she's dead, the bullet hole in her skull shows that. You did a good job." James said as he reached over and unbuckled Black*Star.

"She was my weapon! Don't congratulate me!" Black*Star yelled out.

"We've all had to do these types of things Black*Star. You did the right thing for your family. I'm glad." James told him.

Black*Star blinked at him… for his family… no, he did it for Tsubaki, only for her.

"The ambulance should be here in a few minutes, don't worry Black*Star." James told him.

Black*Star ignored him and made his way over to the front of the car where Tsubaki was. "I'm going to miss you Tsubaki…" he whispered as he got to his knees in front of her and laid his head next to hers, a few tears escaping him as he let his fingers go through her long hair.

He stayed next to her for as long as he could, until the ambulance arrived and James forced him onto the stretcher, picking him up and strapping him down onto it after Black*Star struggled against him.

All Black*Star could think of on his way to the hospital was 'I did what I had to do'.


	32. Chapter 32

The door opened to reveal a man with orange, messed up hair, and worried blue eyes. Maka could have sworn that she had seen him before… but where? Taking a closer look, she noticed that it was the guy from the initiation… he was the one that agreed to let her fight Pops.

"Get inside; I just finished talking with Pops. I'm afraid he has made a decision that will impact Maka in the worst way possible." The man said, opening the door wider to let them in.

"Alright Frank, but could you do me a small favor first?" Carlo asked.

Frank looked at the arm that Carlo was cradling. "Who shot you?" Frank exclaimed as he ran over to his closet and pulled out a first aid kit.

"Black*Star, I think he might have been aiming at his weapon, but shot me instead, my hook was right there next to her after all. Black*Star would never have the guts to shoot his family." Carlo said as he followed Frank in the direction that he went and turned the corner to step into the living room with Maka following close by.

"Make yourselves comfortable, I think I left the pills in my room." Frank said as he rushed to a nearby stair well and ran up the stairs, leaving Carlo and Maka alone in the living room.

"So, what were you saying before? About the whole Star Clan living in the neighborhood, or something along those lines?" Maka asked him as she went to sit down in one of the couches.

Carlo followed her example and sat next to her. "Pops was able to buy this whole neighborhood. No one would be able to witness the crimes that we have committed. Pops drags a new body in to the neighborhood about twice every five months… We don't want to traumatize anyone that doesn't need to be traumatized, plus, we don't want the cops called on us." Carlo explained.

"What about my mom? She didn't know about the Star Clan until a little bit after I showed up, didn't she suspect?" Maka asked him.

"Kami isn't the only one Maka. There are a lot of other loved ones of the Star Clan members that have no idea about the Star Clan." Carlo told her.

"Why don't they know?" Maka persisted.

"What are you guys talking about?" Frank asked as he set the first aid kit on the coffee table and a bottle of pills.

"I was explaining to Maka that not everyone in the neighborhood knows about the Star Clan." Carlo said and his eyes trailed off to the bottle of pills. "Pain killers?" he asked.

"I have to make sure it's not infected Carlo, I'll give you some afterwards." Frank promised as he bent over to check the wound. "You're probably just confusing her Carlo, I'll explain. This is how it works. When a Star Clan member decides to be part of a relationship, they don't want to scare away their partner so they don't tell them. They make sure to hide well the fact that they are part of the Clan." Frank told her as he poured alcohol onto a cotton ball and swabbed it on Carlo's wound.

Carlo sucked in a breath and held it in a way to distract himself from the burn.

"But, isn't that a fake relationship?" Maka asked.

"It is… but Maka, it's one of the only ways to be happy. I love the Star Clan, I'm not going to lie… but it doesn't let me live a normal, happy life. I lost my family when my house was attacked by one of the clan's enemies; I was foolish for living outside of this neighborhood. Here, everyone protect everyone, no matter what. Anyways, having a life outside of the Clan is one of the only things that keep the members sane." Frank explained as he finished cleaning up Carlo's wound.

"So living a lie is supposed to make you happy?" Maka asked.

"When you say it that way, I guess so. All I can say is that I hope you understand when it happens to you." Frank said with a small chuckle as he set the alcohol bottle and the used cotton balls on the coffee table and grabbed a bag of gauze, opening it and pulling the roll out, and started to wrap it around the wound.

"So, Frank, you were saying before that you had just gotten off the phone…" Carlo trailed off.

"Oh, that…" Frank grumbled. "I hate to be the one to give bad news."

"Bad news?" Maka asked.

Frank sighed and stopped the rolling of the gauze to look Carlo in the eyes. "Training."

Carlo's eyes widened. "She just joined!"

"You too, you are her weapon." Frank told him.

"I already went through training!" Carlo exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, but you never trained with Maka, I bet that she doesn't even know how to work with you." Frank said as he started to wrap the gauze again.

"Maka is a meister, she has had practice before." Carlo explained.

"Pops has decided that you two are going to the training camp. Good luck… and don't let him get into your head. You guys are stronger than that." Frank told them as he finished up wrapping the gauze together.

"What's going on? What about training?" she asked.

"Maka… Pops is sending us to train for the battle that is going to happen between the DWMA and the Star Clan. He's sending us to a trusted friend of the Clan. He's tough man, a heartless one at that too." Carlo mumbled.

"What about Soul and his friend?" Maka asked.

"They will have to stay here, they are in no way going to be part of the battle they would betray us." Frank explained.

Maka was about to respond but she kept her mouth shut… Soul is loyal to the DWMA, that wouldn't work here. "Alright… take care of them for me Frank." She muttered, looking down at her hands.

"I'll do my best." Frank promised as he stood up and went to throw away the used cotton swabs.

Carlo's phone rang in his pocket. He took it out and answered it. "Hello?" There was a long pause. "Black*Star? At the hospital… yeah, she's here… hold up." he said into the phone and then handed it to Maka.

Confused, she grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

"Maka, it's me Pops, where are you?" he asked.

"I'm at Frank's house with Carlo." She responded.

"Ask Frank if he could bring you two to the hospital, I'll meet you at the entrance." Pops said and hung up.

"What's going on?" Maka asked Carlo as she handed him his phone.

Frank went to hand Carlo one of the pills. Carlo nodded at him as Frank let it fall into Carlo's outstretched hand.

Carlo swallowed the pill and sighed. "Can we borrow your car?" he asked Frank, completely ignoring Maka.

"Sure." Frank said as he reached into his jean pocket and handed them to Maka. "Be careful, there've been a few car crashes today." He hinted. "The car is parked in the driveway, oh and by the way Maka, you may feel better, but take it easy on the leg. Last time I checked it, it was pretty swollen." Frank said and shoved his hands in his pockets and walked out of the living room and up to his room.

"When did he…" Maka trailed off.

"After the fight, you passed out; Frank was the one that made sure you were alright." Carlo explained as he got up and made his way out of the house, Maka following him closely.

"What's going on at the hospital?" Maka asked him.

"Black*Star… he got into a car crash with his weapon." Carlo explained as he walked over to the car that was in the driveway.

"Are they okay?" Maka asked.

Carlo looked down at her, a frown on his face. "The mission that was sent out by Pops was completed… Black*Star did what he had to do."

"Mission? What are you talking about?" Maka asked him, fear starting to tear through her.

"Tsubaki is dead Maka… she is the enemy, her whole family is the enemy." Carlo explained. "Do you see now? The only way to be happy in the Star Clan is to have people there for you… people that don't know what you are going through." Carlo told her as he opened the passenger door and sat down in the car. "Now, come on, we have to go to the hospital. Black*Star wants to talk to you." Carlo told her, closing the door so that the words could sink in.

Tsubaki is dead… Maka stiffly walked to the other side of the car and sat in the driver's seat, staring straight ahead as she turned the car on. "Where do I go to?" she whispered, shock coursing through her…


	33. Chapter 33

_**A/N: Jezz, every time I listen to the song '**_I Don't Care_**' by **__**Apocalyptica**__**, I get all dark and depressed…**_

Maka rode to the hospital numbness filling her body as she parked in the parking lot.

"What room is Black*Star in?" Carlo asked Maka.

"Pops said he was going to meet us outside." Maka muttered as she turned the car off and stuffed the keys in her jean pocket and slowly got out of the car, Carlo following her.

"Maka… what's wrong?" Carlo asked her. "If it's Black*Star, I'm sure he's fine." Carlo started.

That's when the shock wore off and tears started to roll down her face. "She can't be dead Carlo! You're lying! Tsubaki can't be dead!" Maka exclaimed. "I bet she's in the same room as Black*Star and she is fine!" Maka yelled out and started to run towards the hospital. "She's fine!" she yelled.

"Maka! Your leg! Be careful!" Carlo yelled out after her, running to catch up.

"Maka!" she heard someone yell.

Her head snapped in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Pops. He was leaning against the wall of the building, a lit cigar in his mouth, his hands shoved into the pockets of his black trench coat.

"Pops! Tell me Tsubaki is alive!" she exclaimed, running in his direction rather than in the direction of the entrance.

"She's in denial Pops." Carlo explained when he was able to catch up.

"Maka, I'd rather you calm down and listen to me without a peep. I have had a long day and you do not want to be on my bad side. Now, do you want me to explain what happened, or do you want to skip that part and go see Black*Star?" Pops asked before taking a long drag of his cigar and puffing out smoke rings, by the way his jaw tensed, it was easy to tell that he was about to break, but Maka didn't see that, she was hyperventilating.

"I need to talk to Black*Star. He was with her; I need to know what happened from him." Maka said after quickly wiping away her tears.

"Maka, calm down, take deep breaths." Carlo tried to tell her but Maka was breaking down.

"Tsubaki can't be dead!" Maka exclaimed.

Pops growled. "Maka, stop acting so childish before you make me regret something." He said as he let his cigar drop on the ground and stomped on it.

Maka's eyes began to water again. "You were the one that ordered the kill… why would you send out to kill someone that is so special to one of the Star Clan members? She was my friend! She was Black*Stars weapon! You are cold and heartless!" Maka exclaimed.

Pops lifted his hand in the air and before Carlo could step in and stop it, Pops slapped Maka.

Maka's head snapped to the side, her eyes widening in shock. Maka's cheek burned, a red hand print appeared on it. She had never been slapped before.

"You're still very immature, I should have the trainer fix that." Pops growled.

"What the hell was that for?" Carlo exclaimed, getting in front of Maka so that Pops wouldn't touch her again. "She's your granddaughter; she's going through a hard time. Her friend just died and she's going into training! You have no reason to hit her." Carlo growled.

Pops glared at him. "Don't step out of line Carlo." He warned.

"No! This is my meister and there is no way in hell that I would let you hurt her like that ever again. I'm going to defend her." Carlo growled, crouching into his attack position.

"Know your place Carlo. I'm the head of the Clan, if one of the members steps out of line; I could easily have them executed." Pops warned.

"You had no just reason to slap my meister." Carlo growled, straightening his back so that he looked into Pops eyes.

"I could easily make sure that she receives a different weapon, Carlo. Don't play with fire, boy, you'll get burned." Pops told him.

Carlo took in a deep breath and then let it out. "What room is Black*Star in?" he grumbled.

Pops looked him in the eyes and nodded. "Third floor, second room to the left." Pops said after taking out another cigar from his pocket and lighting it, taking a deep drag of it.

Carlo shook his head in disappointment at Pops and looked back at Maka.

Maka was still standing there in shock, looking down at the ground with wide, innocent eyes.

Carlo put his arm around her shoulder in reassurance and pulled her along with him as he walked towards the main entrance.

"Come on Maka. Let's forget that happened. Pops gets that way when he's stressed out. It's been a long day for him." Carlo muttered.

Maka didn't find the energy in her to respond though, her cheek still stung and her heart ached. Her best friend was gone because of the orders of one man she thought she could trust. "I'm sorry Tsubaki." She muttered.

"What was that Maka?" Carlo asked.

"Nothing, forget about It." she muttered, her hand going up to her cheek.

"Maka, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." Carlo told her as they entered the hospital giving her shoulder a squeeze.

"It's okay, I stepped out of line, I shouldn't have accused Pops." Maka muttered.

"You had every right to; it's his fault after all. You just said it at the wrong time, Pops wasn't being reasonable." Carlo told her.

Maka looked up at him. "Thanks for trying though." She mumbled.

"You're my meister… I should have stepped in before he slapped you, I should have taken the blow." He muttered.

"It wasn't your fault he slapped me, Carlo, stop blaming yourself." Maka told him as they went up to the registration desk.

"We're here to see Black*Star." Carlo told the person behind the desk.

"Third floor, second room to the left." The person told them, pointing to the elevator.

"I can't help but feel that Tsubaki's death is my fault…" Maka muttered as they stepped into the elevator, pressing the button with the number three on it.

"It's not your fault Maka, she was going to die anyways. Pops already had a plan to take her family down after he took down the DWMA." Carlo told her.

"She died way too soon then." Maka whispered.

"Maka… you do realize that you will have to kill a lot of your old friends. They are, in fact, part of the DWMA. If Soul doesn't agree to be part of the clan, his head is going to roll. Maka, you have to be mentally prepared for that kind of stuff." Carlo warned her.

Maka stayed quiet. Carlo is right, she will have to kill a lot of her friends… would she be able to? Kid is such a great meister… what about Kilik? He doesn't have weapons to defend himself… at least she doesn't think he does. But over all of that, would she be able to look them in the eyes when she is forced to kill them? Or will she have to throw a bunch of cheap shots? Maka won't be able to live with herself because of the guilt that would fill her. She won't be able to do it, right after the battle, would she start to think of killing herself.

"Maka, calm down, I know what you're thinking, and after training, you won't have to worry about a thing." Carlo told her.

Maka looked up at Carlo. Will they take away her humanity then?

Before Maka could think it through again, the elevator door opened and they stepped out. "Second door to the left." Carlo muttered and pulled Maka along with him. "Are you sure you want to talk to him Maka? You don't have to if you don't want to." Carlo told her.

"I'm sure." She mumbled and opened the door.

"I'll wait right here. Call me if you need anything." Carlo told her as he sat in one of the seats that were against the wall next to the door frame.

Maka nodded at him and walked inside, closing the door behind her. "Black*Star?" she asked.

Black*Star was lying in bed, his unblinking eyes looking up at the ceiling.

"What happened?" Maka asked him, grabbing a near by chair and setting it next to the bed and sitting down on it.

"I'm sorry Maka… I'm so sorry." Black*Star whispered.

"What are you talking about Black*Star?" Maka asked him.

"Tsubaki is dead." He told her.

"I know." Maka whispered after a pause.

"What happened to your cheek?" Black*Star asked her.

Maka's hand went up to cover it. "Pops slapped me after I acused him of Tsubaki's death." She muttered.

"Maka… it wasn't Pops fault that Tsubaki died." Black*Star told her.

"What are you talking about Black*Star?" Maka asked him, leaning in.

"I was the one that killed her Maka." Black*Star said, his eyes tearing up for the second time that day.

Maka stared at him. "Because Pops told you to… right?" Maka whispered.

Black*Star shook his head. "I shot her Maka." He told her, his voice trembling.

Maka shook her head. "Black*Star…" she started. "But… how?" she asked.

"I'm a weapon Maka, a shot gun." He told her. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

"She was your weapon Black*Star! How could you?" Maka asked, tears of anger starting to appear.

"She pleaded me to do it Maka!" Black*Star told her, sitting up in his bed. "I couldn't say no to her. She had already said goodbye, she took her seat belt off, she had called her dad. Maka, she was ready to die… and she asked me to kill her. She didn't want to die a slow painful death, she didn't want to be used as bait… Maka… she trusted me enough to make it fast… and I did. Maka, help me." He whispered. "I need your help." Black*Star pleaded, stretching over the bed and embracing Maka, pulling her to him. "I need your help…" he said as he started to sob, tears streaming down his cheeks and onto Maka's sleeve.

Maka broke down with him, her arms circling around him and squeezing with all her might as she cried for her fallen friend. "I'm sorry Black*Star… I can't help you. I'm being sent off to training." She managed to say between sobs.

"Don't leave me alone Maka. I don't trust myself." Black*Star pleaded, desperately scratching at the back of her shirt.

"Calm down Black*Star. I'm here now. Breathe." Maka whispered, controlling her tears. She had to be strong around Black*Star. "I'll stay with you here until they take me away.

"Promise?" Black*Star whispered against her shoulder.

"I promise." Maka said as she sat down on the bed next to him and started to rub soothing circles on his back. "You did what you had to do Black*Star. You did what was best for Tsubaki, not for the Star Clan." Maka told him.

"I want to believe that Maka… but I still killed my best friend, I killed her." Black*Star said as he let go of Maka and let himself fall back on his bed, wiping the tears away from his eyes and cheeks.

"Scooch over Black*Star." Maka told him.

Black*Star did as he was told and curled into Maka. "I'm a walking time bomb Maka. I'm a portable shot gun with suicidal thoughts." Black*Star told her.

"You have to promise me one thing Black*Star." Maka muttered.

"What?" he asked as his eyes slowly started to close.

"That you won't kill yourself. You are one of the only things left keeping me human Black*Star… don't take that away from me." She whispered, she knew she was being selfish, but she needed him, he was like the brother she never had.

Black*Star responded with a light snore.

Maka sighed and looked down to see that Black*Star had fallen asleep on her shoulder. "Sleep well Black*Star." She whispered as her own eyes started to close.

Carlo stepped away from the door with a sigh. "Wow… Black*Star protected his weapon by killing her." He mumbled to himself as he sat back down.

If Pops found out about this, Black*Star would die. But he's already having suicidal thoughts, he would want that. Maka would be crushed though.

"I should keep quiet about it. I need to talk to Pops." He muttered to himself. Pulling his cellphone out of his pocket, he dialed Pop's number.

"Hello?" Pops answered.

"Pops, I found out that Black*Star is having suicidal thoughts." Carlo told him.

"Why is that?" Pops asked.

"The man killed his weapon because she was the enemy. Pops, you should go easy on him. I think there is a chance that he might try to provoke you so that you would be the one to kill him." Carlo said.

Pops sighed. "I'll be sure to keep an eye on him." Pops promised.

"Thank you. Maka would appreciate it." Carlo said with a small smile.

"By the way, tell Maka she has about three hours to say goodbye to Black*Star. From the hospital you guys are going straight to the airport. Jared is already packing Maka's stuff and Frank is packing your stuff. They're taking my car over here since Black*Star's weapon crashed Jared's and you guys took Franks." Pops explained.

"Alright then, I'll talk to you later than." Carlo said, hanging up with a smile. "Maka won't be able to see that Soul guy. That's one good thing that came out of this." Carlo mumbled with a smile.


	34. Chapter 34

_**A/N: Just in case you guys don't know, I post my responses to your (anonymous) reviews in my profile. X) I responded to all three of yours '**_guest'_** it'd be nice if you gave yourself a name. Just saying, I don't want to confuse you with anyone else. Sorry I couldn't update yesterday by the way! X) Happy New Year's people! New Year hugs and kisses to all of ya! :D**_

"Jared, I need to talk to you." Kami said, carrying a sleeping Jason in her arms.

Jared looked away from the T.V. and up at Kami. "What is it Kami?" he asked her.

"I… you haven't been paying all that much attention to Jason and me lately and I… I miss you Jared." Kami told him, sitting down next to him on the couch.

"I'll always make time for you Kami." Jared said throwing his arm over her shoulder and kissing her cheek. "You're number one on my list, you come before every one. Jason over here is number two." Jared said, reaching over to pat Jason's head.

Jared's cell phone rang and he sighed, reaching over to the coffee table that was in front of them and grabbing the cell phone. "Hello?" he answered.

"Jared, listen, I need you to pack up Maka's stuff, she's going into training with Carlo." Pops said.

Jared looked down at his wife and kid and gulped. "Uh, Pops, I don't think that's such a good idea." He said.

"And why not?" Pops asked.

"My family comes first and Maka is part of that family, I really don't think sending her to training is such a good idea." Jared said.

Kami blinked up at Jared. "What are you saying about Maka?" she asked him.

"Kami, I'm talking to Pops right now, I'll tell you later." Jared said.

"This is my Maka you are talking about Jared, I need to know!" Kami exclaimed.

"Not now Kami." Jared grumbled.

"This is what I'm talking about Jared! You always put Pops ahead of your family! You know, you are like Spirit sometimes. This is one of those times!" Kami exclaimed, standing up to look down at Jared.

"Don't compare me to your ex!" Jared yelled back.

"Your mother used to do that all the time. We would always get into fights." Pops said with a small chuckle, remembering the old times.

"Is that why she's dead?" Jared exclaimed into the phone.

Pops went silent. "Pack up Maka's stuff; I'll pick you up in three hours." Pops said before he hung up the phone.

"Damn it." Jared growled as he threw the phone to the other side of the room, hitting the wall and cracking the screen when it fell to the ground.

The sound startled Jason awake and he started to cry out, struggling against Kami's hold.

"Jason! Calm down!" Kami exclaimed.

"What was that noise?" Dagger exclaimed running over to the living room, his Macuahuitl arm ready for any incoming attack.

"Dagger! I told you they would handle it!" Soul exclaimed smacking the back of Daggers head.

Jason had gone quiet and Kami froze. "Jared, what are those two young boys doing in our home?" Kami asked him.

Jared glared at the two boys and then looked back at Kami. "Kami, this is Soul, Maka's Ex-weapon. The other boy is Soul's friend." Jared explained.

"You're Soul?" Kami asked, walking closer to him, ignoring the boy with the Macuahuitl arm. "You look exactly like Maka said you looked, except for that scar, she never mentioned that." Kami mumbled.

"You're Kami." Soul said, looking at her closely. "Maka has missed you a lot you know." Soul told her. "Every time she got one of your post cards she would get so excited… but, before she left me she hasn't smiled." Soul muttered.

"Maka still loves you. You still have a chance with her." Kami told him, patting him on the head. "What are you two doing in my home anyways?"

"We got kidnapped." Dagger stated.

"You got what? By who?" Kami exclaimed.

The two boys nodded in Jared's direction.

Kami turned to look at him and sighed. "What have they done?" Kami asked him.

"They, um… they knew too much." Jared said with a small shrug.

Kami glared at him. "I'll get the phone so you could call whoever you need to. Maybe they'll be able to pick you up." Kami told Soul and Dagger and was about to walk over to the kitchen but was stopped by Jared getting in her way.

"Kami, don't get involved in this." Jared warned.

"We don't have any rooms for them to stay Jared. Maka took the guest room." Kami said.

"Kami… about that, Maka's not going to be here for a while." Jared said scratching the back of his neck.

Kami stared up at him. "What are you trying to tell me Jared?" Kami asked him.

"Pops is sending Maka to another part of the country to make her a better fighter. It's for her good Kami. That way she could defend herself." Jared explained.

Kami glared in his direction. "When did I agree with this?" Kami growled.

"Pops ordered it; he just wants the best for Maka." Jared explained.

"I don't like this one bit, but I guess I have no power over this, but I will tell you what I do have power over." Kami growled and then turned to Dagger. "Change your weapon back into your arm." She ordered.

Confused Dagger did as he was told and was handed Jason, who stretched to yank on Dagger's ear. "Soul, change into a scythe, I have a score to settle." Kami growled, anger rolling through her.

Surprised, Soul held out his hand and Kami got a good grip on him as he turned into a scythe.

"Now Jared, we need to talk." Kami said as she twirled started to twirl Soul.

"Don't do anything you are going to regret." Jared warned, his arm turning into a blade.

"Don't worry Jared, I'm just gonna let off some steam." She said, plastering a false smile on her face as she stepped closer to Jared, getting into her attack stance.

"Is this really the way we are going to settle things?" Jared asked as his other arm turned into a blade.

"Yeah, now, we agree that this scythe is one of the most important things to Maka right?" Kami asked as she swung Soul against Jared.

Jared dodged the swing and swung one of his own blades towards Kami, who shielded herself with Soul.

"Yeah, your point being?" Jared asked just as Kami let Soul drop on Jared's torso, only for Soul to be blocked by Jared's two blades.

"If you let this boy or his friend over there get killed by your so called 'family' I will demand a divorce." Kami growled.

Jared was taken back. "You would let out marriage depend on the life of these two boys?" he asked, his stance weakening.

Kami went ahead and kicked his stomach, causing him to go flying back and hit the wall and fall next to his cellphone.

"Of course, I mean, you are letting the Star Clan get in the way of our marriage." Kami said bending over to look him in the eyes.

"Fine, you win." Jared grumbled.

"Good." Kami said and held out her hand to help Jared up.

Jared looked at her hand and smiled up at her. "You still got it." he said with a chuckle as his blades turned back into arms, and got a hold of her arm.

Kami hoisted him up and gave him a peck on the cheek. "You do what you need to do. I'm taking Jason to bed." Kami said as she nodded at Soul, who turned back into his human form, confused for what just happened.

Kami walked over to Dagger and grabbed a hold of Jason. "Thank you." she said as she patted his head and made her way towards the nearby room.

"One of the reasons I fell for her." Jared said with a sigh.

"Because she could kick your ass?" Dagger asked as he leaned against the wall.

"She's full of surprises." Jared corrected and picked up his phone. "I better start packing up for Maka." He said.

"I'm going with Maka right?" Soul asked.

Jared looked at him and sent him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Soul, but that is not going to happen. She's going with Carlo."

Soul blinked up at him. "Why can't I go with her?" he exclaimed.

"I've had enough yelling for today Soul, calm down." Jared said.

"By the way, I'm not his friend; I preferred to be called Dagger." Dagger said, but the two ignored them.

"Maka was my meister; I still have this protective feeling over her." Soul said.

"I'm sorry Soul, but I have no control over this, and neither do you. Maka is going over there with Carlo and that's it. They need to get ready for the fight with the DWMA." Jared told him as he made his way towards Maka's room.

"Hold up, what is this about fight with the DWMA?" Dagger asked, walking behind them as they entered Maka's room.

Jared shook his head at him and Dagger sighed. "I'll ask later I guess." He grumbled.

"By the way Soul… Black*Stars weapon…" Jared started.

"Tsubaki? What about her?" Soul asked.

Jared looked down at him, a frown on his face as his hand went to rest on Soul's shoulder. "She died." He whispered.

Soul stared at him. "She was Maka's best friend." Soul said. "I need to be there with her. With Black*Star too. Where are they? You need to take me to them!" Soul said. "I need to be there for them." Soul stated.

"I'll see what I could do, but you have to help me pack up things for Maka." Jared said giving Soul's shoulder one last squeeze before going into Maka's closet to pull out her suit case.


	35. Chapter 35

_**A/N: Be sure to read the A/N at the end! The ending of this story might just depend on it!**_

"Now all we have to do is wait for Pops." Jared said as he set the two suit cases on the bed. "I'm going to go watch the end of the game." He mumbled as he stepped out of the room, leaving behind Soul and Dagger.

"You know, if one of my friends had passed away I would be depressed." Dagger said with a small shrug and leaned against the wall, stretching out his hand so that he could look at his nails.

Soul stayed quiet as he grabbed a note book that was on the desk. Flipping through it, he saw that it was a blank one and he grabbed a pencil and randomly started to doodle on a page. "You don't have any friends Dagger." Soul grumbled not looking up from the note book.

"True… but you do. Why didn't you react the way anyone else would?" Dagger asked as he pushed himself off of the wall and went to sit on the desk chair.

"Why the sudden interest in me?" Soul asked him, looking up at him from the note book.

"I'm bored and I have nothing better to do, and I don't feel like pulling some sort of prank on you right now." Dagger mumbled, letting out a small yawn. "It's too late for that kind of shit." He grumbled.

Soul rolled his eyes and continued drawing. "Do you really want to know why I didn't start crying like a little girl?" Soul asked.

"You could cry like a little girl now." Dagger suggested.

"So you could make fun of me? No thanks." Soul mumbled. "Look, to put it simple, I try not to get too attached to anyone okay. Tsubaki was a good friend, yes, but friends come and go. I learned that the hard way." Soul said.

"What about this Maka chick? It seems you're pretty attached to her." Dagger said leaning back in his chair.

"She's the only exception." Soul answered.

"You said that friends come and go… what do you mean by that?" Dagger asked.

"Did you always want to be a therapist or is this a new thing for you?" Soul asked.

"It's just something to keep boredom at bay." Dagger said throwing his legs over the arm of the desk chair so that he could curl into the back of the chair. "Answer the question." Dagger grumbled.

"I haven't told anyone about my past, what makes you think I'll tell you?" Soul asked.

"Because we have about an hour left to kill before this 'Pops' guy comes to pick Jared up." Dagger said.

"I'm not going to tell you." Soul said.

"What are you drawing?" Dagger asked.

"Nothing." Soul grumbled, burying his face into the notebook.

"That is where you're wrong; the correct answer would be scribbles. The pencil is moving around on the paper." Dagger said after making an annoying buzzard noise.

Soul sighed and held up the notebook so that he could see his drawing.

"The woman that walked in earlier?" Dagger asked, sitting upright in the chair as he grabbed the note book and let out a low whistle.

"A bit more respect for the fallen, Dagger." Soul growled, snatching the note book away.

"What are you talking about?" Dagger asked sinking back into his poor posture.

"This is how I cope when I lose someone important." Soul grumbled.

"That's her? You draw the people that die?" Dagger asked.

"You wouldn't understand." Soul grumbled again as he worked to finish his drawing of Tsubaki.

"Try me." Dagger said.

Soul sighed and looked up from my drawings. "I draw them so that I wouldn't forget about them when I move on in life. They won't be able to hold me back and I'll still be able to remember them. This is my way of saying good bye." Soul explained.

Dagger blinked. "You're right, I didn't understand."

"Told you." Soul said as he went back to his drawing. "The reason I tried not to over react when I found out that Tsubaki died was because I don't want to be weak in front of the Star Clan. Do you understand that type of reasoning?" Soul asked him.

"Now that one is more understandable." Dagger agreed. "I need a beer." Dagger said under his breath. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Soul asked him, looking up from his drawing.

"It's been going on for hours; I think it just might be me." Dagger said.

"No, I hear it too, a beeping noise right?" Soul asked.

"Yeah." Dagger responded.

"It's coming from you." Soul said and then an idea occurred to him. "Didn't Justin say he was going to put a tracker on you because you usually skip out on the detentions you get?" Soul asked.

"Yeah. What's your point?" Dagger asked him.

"Did he give you something before we were kidnapped?" Soul asked.

"Yeah! He gave me this awesome watch! Want to see it?" Dagger asked, completely forgetting about the beeping noise.

Soul looked at him in shock but shook himself out of it. "Sure, let me see it." he said, putting his pencil down and holding out his hand.

Dagger took off the watch that was attached to his wrist and held it in front of Soul. "See with your eyes, not your hands." He said.

Soul rolled his eyes and snatched the watch away from Dagger.

"Hey!" Dagger exclaimed.

"You really are an idiot." He grumbled as he played around with the watch until he pressed a button that flipped open to reveal a screen, an angry looking Mr. Law on it.

"About time!" he growled. "What took you two so long?"

"This idiot thought you would give him a present for no real reason." Soul explained.

"I told him that it was a communicator and a tracking device. My god, I need to put that boy in special classes." Mr. Law grumbled.

"Hey!" Dagger exclaimed.

"Anyways, you guys are on enemy territory, I already told Lord Death and he said that you guys are going to be our spies. So that means you have to get on their good side."

"What's going on?" Soul asked.

"The Star Clan is planning an attack on the DWMA. The DWMA received this information from the Nakatsukasa family. They said that their daughter died giving them the information so they demanded that every mission be dropped and that we concentrated on taking down the Star Clan to avenge their daughter's death. Lord Death thought it was a bit drastic, but this is a big case so he decided that half of the cases be dropped so that more time would be spent on the Star Clan mission. This decision included our school, so you guys are a big part of this mission."

Soul sat quietly, absorbing the information… Tsubaki sacrificed herself… Maka's the enemy… Spies… betrayal. "This is way too much drama for me." Soul murmured.

"Soul, pay attention! About the whole Blair thing. I found a spell that could actually get my daughter back, I still need to find Blair, but knowing how she is when she is obsessed over something, I suggest you watch your back." Mr. Law warned.

Soul nodded at him.

"Soul, I think it would be best if you wore the watch instead of Dagger. You won't ignore my calls." Mr. Law grumbled.

Dagger huffed and sank into the chair even further.

"I have to go finish up a few things. I'll call later, and you guys better answer." Mr. Law said shutting down his own watch and turning in his office chair to look at the piles of spell books. "Don't worry, I'll save you soon enough." He mumbled, his daughter in his mind as he opened up the first book his hand landed on and began to read.

Soul sighed as he closed the watch and wrapped it around his wrist. "If only I hadn't slept with Blair." He murmured, letting his hands go up to comb through his hair as he fell back on the bed.

"Now this is a story I want to hear." Dagger said, sitting up in his chair.

Jared knocked on the door and poked his head in. "You guys, come on, Pops waiting outside. He'll be the one to decide whether or not you could see Maka and Black*Star." Jared said, walking in to grab the suit cases and walk out, not waiting for the two boys to follow him.

_**A/N: What do you guys think? Should Soul have a past that comes back to haunt him, or do you guys think that this story has enough drama and just leave Soul's past as a mystery? The whole drawing scene was a huge hint towards his past that I have planned for him, but it seems like most of you think that there is enough drama in this story. I want to make my readers happy, so I'm letting you guys decide on this one. I need every single one of you guys to vote! For a few chapters, I'm going to be talking more about Maka than Soul, so that gives you guys a bit more time to vote. Put your vote in a review, or PM me, it doesn't matter as long as it gets to me so that I can count it. ^.^ Even though only about three of you guys review, there are about a hundred of you guys that read this story! None of you review! Why? You guys do know that even if you aren't a member of FanFiction, you could still review right?**_

_**By the way, sorry if the beginning of this chapter was a bit awkward. Soul and Dagger are going to be stuck together for a while longer whether they like it or not… and they don't. XD So I'm trying to get them to at least get used to being in each other's company.**_


	36. Chapter 36

_**A/N: I have noticed the lack of Mr. Law, so I decided to dedicate a chapter to him and his problems… the Blair problem, and one more. That wasn't well explained before, so here you go. ^.^**_

Mr. Law let out a yawn, letting his eyes drift over to the clock on his desk. "It's only three in the morning… two more hours of research won't hurt." Mr. Law muttered, his eye lids starting to get heavier as he reached behind him to grab yet another book with one arm and with the other, he shoved the useless book in front of him to the ground where a pile of books laid.

"It doesn't matter that you haven't slept in days… you can do this." He mumbled to himself. "It's all for her… for her. I promised Jackie." He mumbled as he set his book down in front of him and lightly slapped his cheeks in an effort to stay awake.

Letting out yet another small yawn, he opened the book and started to read it out loud to himself. "The many steps to… to…" he mumbled, his eyes closing against his will as his head fell against the open book, a light snore coming from him.

_**-Mr. Law's dream-**_

"_Dad! Mom! You're home!" a teenage girl with bouncy purple hair yelled out, arms wide open when the front door of their apartment opened._

_In walked a younger looking Mr. Law with his meister, the woman he had chosen to make a life with._

"_You were gone a lot longer than normal this time." The girl said as she hugged her mother and quickly moved on to her father._

"_We got you a surprise. That way, when we leave for another mission, you wouldn't have to be so lonely." Mr. Law, or Justin as his wife called him, said after giving his daughter a hug._

"_What is it?" she asked as she went to sit down on the couch._

_Jackie, Justin's wife, walked out into the hallway and brought back a pet cage. "A nice kitten and she's your favorite color too!" she said as she set it on the ground and opened it, reaching inside to pull out a purple cat and hand it to her daughter._

_The cat looked up at the teenage girl and couldn't look away. Justin deemed this a bit odd, but he brushed it off with a little yawn. "It's midnight; we should probably go to sleep." He murmured._

"_I'll stay here with Hannah; I promised her that we would watch a movie together after we came back from the mission." Jackie said, sending Justin a smile._

"_Alright, I'll call it a day, see you tomorrow." Justin muttered and dragged himself towards bed, falling on top of it. It seemed like a few seconds had gone by before he heard an ear-shattering scream. _

_Justin ran towards the door, but it refused to open. "Open the door!" he yelled out, pounding on the door._

"_Hannah! Hold on baby!" he heard Jackie yell out._

_Justin's heart skipped a beat as he backed away and kicked at the door, but it wouldn't budge._

"_Don't give in!" he heard Jackie yell again._

"_God damn it, open the door!" he yelled out again, giving it one last forceful kick, breaking it down. Justin ran out to see his wife sobbing, a whole bunch of furniture piled up on top of her, her arms reaching out towards her daughter who was unconscious in the middle of the living room. _

_The purple cat that they had gotten Hannah was reaching into her chest, its paw somehow managing to dig past the skin without tearing it and pulling out a light blue soul._

"_Justin! Do something!" Jackie yelled out, tears streaming down her face._

_Justin ran towards the cat that held his daughters Soul, but unfortunately, she saw him and smirked. "Nice try, but you are worthless without your meister." She said, lifting her paw and pointing it at Justin. "Pum-pum-pumpkin." She said under her breath._

_A pumpkin shot out of her paw and slammed into Justin, slamming him against the wall and holding him there._

_The words rang through his head. You are worthless without your meister._

"_Leave my daughter alone!" Justin yelled out._

"_I don't think so. I've had my eye on this body ever since I moved into this town and I'm not about to let you petty humans ruin that for me." The purple cat growled and swallowed Hannah's soul whole._

_Justin struggled against the pumpkin, but it was to no avail. The cat murmured a few words under her breath and then her eyes rolled back as she fell back into Hannah's body._

_Justin's heart stopped completely as the pumpkin disappeared and he fell to the ground._

_Hannah's body sat up. "It feels so much better than what I expected, so much healthier. I'll be taking great care of this one." Hannah's body mumbled as it looked down at itself._

"_Who are you?" Justin exclaimed getting back up and making his way towards her._

"_My name is Blair, and I thank you for this nice body that you have brought to the world. Now if you excuse me, I'll take my leave." Blair said with a little curtsey._

"_Stop her Justin!" Jackie ordered._

_Justin nodded and ran in the direction of Blair, tackling her down to the ground._

_Blair transformed into a cat and managed to wiggle out of Justin's arms._

_Justin struggled to catch the slippery cat, but Blair managed to jump onto the window that led to the fire escape. She sent Justin a sly grin and jumped onto it._

_Justin jumped out after her only for his body to be slammed back inside by a huge pumpkin. "Damn it." he grumbled._

"_The door Justin!" Jackie yelled out._

_Justin gave up trying to get out through the fire escape and instead ran for the front door, only to find that it too was blocked by a huge pumpkin, no matter how much he tried to get through, it wouldn't budge. He tried all the windows and nothing._

"_She's gone… I'm sorry." He murmured to his wife after pulling her out from all the furniture._

_Jackie cried for hours, and Justin managed to hold back his tears. He had to be strong for his wife. "We'll find her again. I promise you. I will get our daughter back Jackie." Justin said as he hugged his wife harder._

"_I don't think I could get over this. Why did we have to get her that cat?" Jackie managed to say through pauses between her sobs._

"_Don't blame yourself Jackie." He murmured._

_They tried calling the cops but, the phone was broken due to being one of the pieces that piled up on top of Jackie, and the pumpkins didn't disappear, letting Blair escape. The neighbors tried to get them out but it was useless. Twelve hours later, the pumpkins somehow vanished._

_A few years passed and they saw nothing of their daughter._

"_Jackie, you need something to keep your mind off of Hannah for a while. Why don't you give art lessons?" Justin suggested after getting tired of listening to her cry herself to sleep._

"_I'm not giving up on her." Jackie insisted._

"_That's not what I'm saying Jackie. You are on the verge of becoming suicidal; I'm not willing to lose you." Justin murmured. "Give art lessons, I know that that relaxes you. Do it for me." Justin murmured, wiping away a few stray tears that were trailing down her cheeks._

_Jackie looked up at him and he had to bite back a few sobs, she looked almost exactly like Hannah. Justin had to look away for a while._

"_You see her too. Every morning that I have to look in the mirror… I see her." She murmured._

_Justin pulled her into a hug and let her cry on his shoulder. "I really do think that giving art lessons would be healthy for you." he whispered, his throat closing up._

_So Jackie went ahead and put ads all over the town, but no one seemed to give her a chance. Justin began to worry. He even considered becoming her student, but she needed a break from her home life, and he was a part of that, so that wasn't going to work._

_One faithful day, Jackie received a call about her teaching private lessons to a family's son._

"_They say that their son is acting up even though he's only about nine years old. He doesn't want to play his piano anymore and they want me to teach him how to draw in hopes that that will calm him down." Jackie said as she packed her bag with special drawing pencils._

_Justin smiled, this was the first time that Jackie has acted this way since the incident… he missed it. "Have fun Jackie." He said as he opened the door for her._

_Jackie left and a few hours later came back a huge smile on her face._

"_How was it?" Justin asked as he served himself some juice._

"_It was great. I really don't see how the boy is acting up. He was so nice." Jackie said._

"_Oh?" Justin asked as he took a swig of his juice._

"_Yeah, he has the oddest eyes though. They are a blood red, and his hair, the poor boy is going to be picked on when he grows older." Jackie said with a small chuckle as she set her bag down on the ground._

"_Why?" Justin asked._

"_It's white. His hair is naturally white. Aside from that, he's a nice boy, he wouldn't harm a fly. He has a good hand though, does very nice artwork. He has a nice name too, I think it was Soul." Jackie said as she grabbed Justin's cup of juice and drunk it all, leaving him pouting. "Thank you." she said._

"_Well Jackie, do you like being an art teacher? Will you be able to concentrate on our missions now?" he asked her as he went to wash the cup._

"_I think so." She said._

_A few weeks went by, and the lessons with the little boy continued, Jackie came back home every day with a smile on her face and a story to tell, but Justin still saw sadness in her eyes. It was understandable though, but he wouldn't push it, Jackie was smiling again, that's what mattered right now._

_Justin had made dinner for the two of them, his stomach was rumbling, but he refused to eat until his wife came back to tell him how her day with the Soul boy went._

_A whole hour came and went and the dinner had gone cold. With a sigh, Justin got up and grabbed the phone to call her, but she didn't pick up._

_Justin felt his heart beat speed up, what if something bad happened?_

_Justin quickly ran out of the apartment and got into his car. He had dropped Jackie off at the Evans mansion many times before._

_Pulling up into their driveway, he turned off the car and ran up the steps that led to the door and knocked on it repeatedly until the butler answered the door._

"_How can I help you?" the butler asked._

"_Uh, yeah, is Jackie here? My wife?" he asked._

"_She should have left a while ago. Did she not make it home?" the butler asked._

"_No, she hasn't and I'm worried." He said. "Could I check if she is still teaching the boy?" Justin asked._

"_Of course, follow me." The butler said letting him in and leading him to a set of double doors pushing them open and freezing at the sight before him. "M-master Soul… what have you done?" the butler asked._

_Justin marched inside of the room, expecting a mess of paints, but instead was met by blood stains splattered all over the carpet._

_Justin fell to his knees when he saw Jackie on the ground, blood still flowing from a gaping hole in her stomach. Sitting in a nearby chair was a little boy with white hair, red eyes that were filled with tears that over flowed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know how to control it. It hurt me." He kept repeating between sobs, his little business suit stained red with blood, one of his arms was turned into a blade while the other clutched a pencil tightly over his heart. The art canvas next to the little boy had a sketch that looked a lot like Jackie._

_The words '_**You're useless without your meister'**_ bounced around in his head again. Quickly, Justin picked Jackie up in his arms and ran out of the mansion and rushed to the hospital… but deep inside, he knew it was too late._

_**-End of Justin's Dream-**_

Justin was jolted awake as he gasped for air. "It's him… he killed her… How could I forget about him? Soul killed Jackie." Justin murmured, his hands going up to his hair, yanking at it. "God damn it. I had him right in front of me in many occasions and I let him get away?" Justin murmured to himself. "He'll pay… once I get my daughter back, he'll pay for killing my wife." Justin growled under his breath as his hands balled up into fists.

_**A/N: Sorry Mr. A, the temptation of making a chapter on Soul's past was too much for me; technically, it wasn't exactly Soul's past but still. I couldn't help it, forgive me?**_

_**Anyways, all of you that reviewed and PMed me, one way or another wanted to hear Soul's past… do you like how I linked it into Mr. Law's past? It is definitely going to come back to bite him in the rear. Poor Soul, what he meant when he said that he 'couldn't control it' was that it was his first time transforming into his weapon form, he didn't know how to control it (I don't know how the first time transforming into a weapon works). That's why he was acting out, he was getting pains. Hope that clears it up. ^.^ And for those of you that didn't review… I'm disappointed in you. This chapter was dedicated to those that made in effort in contacting me.**_


	37. Chapter 37

_**A/N: Now that I got through the Mr. Law chapter, back to where we were before. ^. ^ There are a few details that are still missing from Soul's past so I'll see if I'll be able to squeeze them in somewhere.**_

"I need to see Maka, let me go with you guys." Soul told Pops, his hold on the notebook and pencil tightening as Frank opened the trunk of the car to put in Maka's suit cases along with Carlo's.

"No." Pops said, already getting annoyed by Soul.

"You have to beg Soul." Dagger whispered.

"Please take me with you guys." Soul pleaded.

"That's not the type of begging I meant." Dagger told him.

"Look, Soul, I've had enough to deal with today, it's three in the morning, go back and go to sleep." Pops said, shooing them off with a wave of his hand as he opened the driver's door and stepped into the car, turning it on.

"Wait; let me at least write her a note, will you give it to her before she leaves?" Soul asked Pops.

"You have until Jared gets back from saying goodnight to Kami and his kid, to give me that note." Pops told him.

Soul turned to Dagger and gave him a shove. "Go stall him, buy me some time." Soul said, pushing him in the direction of the house with his free hand.

"What do I get out of this?" Dagger asked, letting himself be pushed.

"What do you want?" Soul growled.

"I can't think of anything at the moment…" Dagger mumbled.

"I'll tell you about my past, how about that?" Soul growled, pushing him again.

"Fine, but tell me when we have nothing better to do, I don't want to hear it when I'm actually entertained." Dagger said as he lazily made his way back to the house to stall Jared for as long as he could.

Soul quickly opened up the note book and started to scribble a note to Maka.

"I tried Soul!" Dagger yelled out about a minute later.

Soul's head turned in the direction of the yell to see Dagger holding on to Jared's shirt collar and yanking to hold him back but it seemed as if it didn't affect Jared at all, he kept walking.

Soul quickly looked back down at his scribbling and finished up what he was writing, tore it out of the note book and handed it to Pops through the open window. "Please make sure she gets this." Soul said.

"Sure." Pops said, grabbing it and stuffing it into his pocket.

Frank got into the back seat while Jared opened the passenger door. "You could let go now Dagger." He said.

"Did you get it done Soul?" he called out.

Soul nodded in his direction, making his way back to the house.

"See ya Jared." Dagger said, letting go of his collar and giving him a pat on the back as he walked back towards the house, beating Soul to the door.

"I really wanted to at least say goodbye to Maka." Soul muttered as he opened the door to the house and stepped inside.

"At least now you have more time to finish up your drawing." Dagger said with a shrug.

"Yeah, I guess." Soul mumbled as he went back towards the guest room.

Dagger followed him there, a yawn starting to form. "You could tell me about your past right about now." Dagger said as he went to sit down on the desk chair.

_**-Page Break-**_

Carlo walked into the room where Maka and Black*Star were still sleeping, having just received a call from Pops telling them to say good bye to Black*Star, that he was on his way.

"Maka." He murmured, gently pushing against her shoulder.

Maka's eyes slowly opened and looked up at him. "What?" she murmured, rubbing her eyes, careful not to move too much because Black*Star's head was currently resting on her stomach.

"Pops says that it's time to go, do you want to wake him up and say goodbye… or do you just want to leave?" Carlo asked.

Maka looked down at Black*Star, her heart filling with sadness. "I can't leave him like this Carlo… I need to talk to Pops about this." Maka said.

"Just go already." Black*Star growled, pushing himself off of Maka and laying down back on the bed with his back to her.

"Black*Star-" Maka started but she was interrupted.

"Go! Leave me alone!" Black*Star yelled at her. He knew how Pops doesn't like to be kept waiting; he knew what could happen to Maka. Black*Star's arm went to cover his bandaged torso… he didn't want that for her.

"No. You need me here Black*Star, I don't want you to go on thinking that it was your fault." Maka said.

"I'm sure that Pops would let Soul visit me every once in a while. After all, I'm just going crazy, nothing a few happy pills can't handle." Black*Star grumbled.

"Black*Star, I know what you're trying to do, don't let Maka leave with this memory of you." Carlo growled.

"I don't want Pops to hurt her any more than he already has." Black*Star growled, refusing to turn around and face them.

Maka looked down at Black*Star and wrapped her arm around his torso, burying her head against his shoulder. "I'll miss you Black*Star. I'll be back as soon as I can to be here for you. Don't do anything stupid okay?"

Black*Star stayed quiet.

"Promise me you won't." Maka insisted.

"I can't do that Maka… I don't want to lie to you." Black*Star insisted.

Maka quieted down, a single tear escaping her as her arm tightened around his stomach.

"Black*Star… you know how things are in training. They are going to break her with every shot they could get. Do you know what's going to happen if she finds out you did something stupid?" Carlo asked.

"I don't want to hurt anyone else." Black*Star said, his voice starting to quiver.

There was a knock on the door and Frank poked his head inside. "Pop's waiting in the car." He said, stepping inside. "He sent me to make sure that Black*Star doesn't make anything stupid." Frank told them.

"Come on Maka, say good bye, we have to go." Carlo told her, squeezing her shoulder lightly.

"I'm sorry Black*Star." Maka muttered, letting go of him and sitting up, her vision starting to get blurry.

Frank stopped them before they could leave. "Maka… don't show any weakness, that's the only way you could survive training." Frank told her, looking her in the eyes. "Don't think about what is going on in the outside world, concentrate on yourself and Carlo. He will find your weakness and hit it hard without mercy."

Maka nodded wiping away a tear that escaped and walked out of the room before anything else could happen.

Carlo looked back at Black*Star from the door way. "Black*Star… do the right thing, not what you want to do." He warned and followed Maka out to the car.

Frank closed the door and sat in the chair next to the bed. "Black*Star, look at me."

Black*Star didn't move.

"I know you didn't kill your weapon for the Star Clan." Frank said.

Black*Star froze and turned to look at him. "Who told you?" he asked.

"No one, I figured it out myself. I would have done the same thing for my family… Black*Star, your weapon was the enemy; we would have used her as bait. You did the right thing for her. Don't worry, Pops doesn't know, it's just me." Frank told him.

"If you tell him, he would kill me for betraying the clan." Black*Star grumbled.

"I know, I won't tell him." Frank said.

"It was a suggestion." Black*Star replied.

"Black*Star, enough of us are on happy pills, you don't have to be, at least not yet. You have your whole life ahead of you." Frank tried to explain.

"You don't know what it's like to have to kill someone close to you." Black*Star mumbled.

Franks eyes went cold. "Black*Star, I had to kill my two little girls." He growled.

Black*Star's eyes widened and he sat up to stare at Frank. "What?" he mumbled. "But… you said that your family died after an enemy attacked your home." Black*Star said.

Frank sighed. "My two baby girls, they were the best thing that could happen to me." He whispered.

"What happened?" Black*Star asked.

"It was in the middle of the night, my wife and I were sleeping in our room when I heard loud coughing, and my wife thought she heard the back door open. I thought the coughing came from one of the girls getting sick so I went to get her a glass of water while my wife went to go check the back door. I walked up the stairs to their room to see the door was wide open… the girls weren't in their bed. Megan and Pam weren't there.

"Like any other father, I panicked, dropping the water and running inside the room, calling out their names, but they didn't respond. I ran down the stairs to tell Jordan, my wife, that the girls were gone but when I ran inside our room, one of the enemies of the Star Clan was there with my two little girls.

"I was relieved at first… but then I looked more closely, I saw that their hands and clothes were stained red with blood… Black*Star, my heart sank at the moment I realized that they weren't them… their souls weren't there anymore. Their eyes were white, dead, no feeling in them.

"I remember the evil smirk on the man's face. He told me it was pay back for killing off his followers. I was the one that found their hide out and called for the attack that killed all of them… he was the one that escaped." Frank mumbled, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Then I called out for Jordan, but that just made him laugh harder. That laugh… it still haunts me." Frank muttered shaking off the shivers that were going down his spine. "Underneath the stairwell, we had hidden a pistol just in case. I went to get it and when I turned around, Megan and Pam pounced on me, causing me to fall back. They were scratching my arms and stomach, baring their teeth at me." Frank let out a small sob, his hand going up to cover his mouth as tears ran down his cheeks.

Black*Star had never seen a grown man cry, it was heart breaking. He couldn't believe what he was hearing; this is entirely different story than the one he had heard from Pops.

Once Frank was able to control his sobs, he started again. "They were trying to kill me. I had no other choice… Black*Star, I had to kill them. Megan was the first to go, she was digging her nails into my shoulders and yanking away at my skin, I still have the scars. I had to shoot her right between the eyes. Then it was Pam. She was jumping on my stomach… Black*Star, I didn't know what else to do, it was them, my daughters, but at the same time they were demons that I've never met before. I had to kill them both. She fell to the ground, but she managed to crack a few bones.

"The bastard, he stood their smiling in victory. 'Kill me; I got my revenge' was what he told me. The nerve of him, I felt so weak, but I did as I was told… but I made sure he suffered. I'm not going to go into details… let's just say there were a lot of blood and gore, and surgery without any pain killers." Frank said, hatred filling him as he remembered the smile that haunts him.

"What happened to Jordon?" Black*Star asked.

Frank let his head fall into his hands. "I told you that my baby girls' hands and clothes were stained with blood right?" he murmured.

"Yeah…" Black*Star trailed off, he had a feeling that he knew where this was going.

"After calling Pops to come pick up the dismembered body… I went searching for her, to beg for her forgiveness, to tell her what had happened, and I found her… in the back yard, her stomach was… was…" Frank couldn't hold it in anymore he felt his dinner start to come up. "Where's the bathroom?" he asked after throwing up a bit in his mouth, his hand going up to cover it.

Black*Star pointed to the door on the other side of the room and saw Frank run for it, slamming the door shut behind him, but that didn't stop Black*Star from hearing him throw up.

A few minutes passed and he heard the sink turn on and the shut off. Frank walked out of the bathroom, his skin pale. "I'm sorry… her stomach, it was torn open, her ribs were ripped out of her, her guts were surrounding her, some still attached to the inside… but what really got to me was that her eyes were wide open in fright… she was gagged, one of the reasons that I didn't know what was going on." Frank said.

"Frank… why didn't you tell us what had happened?" Black*Star asked.

"I... you guys wouldn't understand what I was going through. I started to get depressed and Pops noticed this. He said that his third in command shouldn't be this weak… so he sent me to a hospital to get myself checked out. A few years later, here I am, on happy pills. I'm telling you this Black*Star, because you have some idea of what I had to go through. Black*Star, do something with yourself, I'm sure you weapon would have wanted you to be happy." Frank muttered.

Black*Star looked him in the eyes. "I'm sure your family would have wanted you to be happy too."

_**-Page Break-**_

"I was nine years old when I started to act out. I started to get pains for no reason and being the stubborn kid that I was I lashed out on people, saying that nothing was wrong with me.

"I had to take a break from playing the piano… every time I hit a chord, this shock would go through me, and I didn't like it, it used to scare me." Soul said, hating himself for promising he would tell his past to Dagger.

"Go on." Dagger said.

Soul sighed and with a roll of his eyes continued. "My parents started to worry about me and they kept asking what was going on with me. I got sick of it and snapped, threatened to run away. They panicked and decided to turn their heads in the direction of art.

"They saw an ad in the streets and called the private tutor to come in the next day to teach me a few things."

"They dressed me up and warned me that if I did something bad to the lady that they would make me share a room with my brother Wes. I hated my brother by the way." Soul muttered.

"The part of the story that you will tell me later." Dagger mentioned.

"Anyways, I liked the tutor; she was nice and was patient with me. Her name was Jackie… but then one day, the pain was getting out of control. She noticed and got a bit too close for my liking." Soul said. "I told her to back off but she wouldn't listen, she kept asking what was wrong, and I… I just broke. It was my first transformation, you know how we can't control it, everything just went blank and I went on instinct… I… my… my arm turned into a blade and I slashed her stomach.

"I remember the way she fell to the ground. I didn't know how to turn my arm back, I was frantic. I sat down beside her and begged for her to forgive me. I remember her looking up at me. 'It is okay, you didn't know'… she understood." Soul said looking up at the ceiling.

"I tried to go get help for her, but her hand reached up and grabbed my hand. She stopped me, she asked me not to. I asked her why, but instead of answering she grabbed a pencil that was behind her ear and weakly handed it to me. She told me to draw her happy… 'It's the only way you would be able to move on'. That's what she told me. I drew her and just as I finished the doors opened. I started to say sorry, I didn't know how to control it, it hurt me… the husband saw his wife on the ground, just a few breaths left in her. He fell to his knees in shock. He looked at me in disbelief and then ran to gather his wife in his arms and left… I was yelled at, my mom was crying, the servants were packing up our stuff." Soul muttered.

"So it was like a hit and run?" Dagger asked.

Soul looked at him. "Yeah… I guess. We moved to a town near Death City, and a few years later, I left my family and went to the DWMA where I met Maka… that's another story entirely." Soul said.

"What about the husband? What happened to him?" Dagger asked.

"I don't know. I forgot what he looked like too, we left a couple hours after the incident." Soul said with a shrug.

"Do you not have a conscience?" Dagger asked.

"What do you mean?" Soul responded.

"You killed a woman!" Dagger exclaimed.

Soul glared at him. "I had no control Dagger!"

"Did you even say sorry to the husband?"

"I tried to but he ignored me!" Soul yelled out. "That was about eight years ago, piss off Dagger." Soul yelled.

Dagger for once quieted down. "I'm sorry for your loss." He muttered.

"Look, it was a long time ago; I've managed to forget about it for a few years." Soul growled.

"Yet you still draw." Dagger told him.

Soul looked up at him and then down at his lap where he was finishing the sketch of Tsubaki, his hand tightening around the pencil. "Yeah… I still do."

_**A/N: I just realized that this is a bit too long for my liking; I might have over done this… It is seven pages long. O.O Anyways, don't forget to review. ^. ^ Any questions, I would be glad to answer, don't be afraid to ask! **_


	38. Chapter 38

"Where are they?" Maka asked after walking out of the hospital, wiping away the tears that were streaming down her face.

"They're over there." Carlo said as he threw his arm around her shoulder to pull her in the direction of the waiting car.

"Do you think that he's going to do something stupid?" Maka asked with a small sniffle.

"I don't know I hope he doesn't though." Carlo muttered as they approached the car. He reached out and opened the door for her letting her inside and stepping inside after her, closing the door behind him.

"Maka, are you crying?" Jared asked, bewildered.

"Black*Star is being suicidal." Carlo explained to him.

Jared looked at Pops. "Is that why you sent Frank inside?" he asked.

"Carlo called me before I went to go pick you guys up. Don't worry Maka; I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Pops told her.

Maka curled in to Carlo, her hand going up to her cheek. Carlo understood what was going on. He rubbed soothing circles on her back and wrapped his other arm around her as Pops pulled out of the parking lot.

Jared glanced back at Maka. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing." Maka muttered.

"She was getting out of hand and I slapped her." Pops told him.

"You did what?" Jared exclaimed, anger rolling through him.

"I slapped her; you know not to mess with me in a day like this." Pops informed.

Jared's hands rolled up into fists. "That's my step-daughter that you slapped. Pops, she didn't know any better." He growled.

"Look, it happened, and it's too late for that now." Pops told him.

"How could you be so cool about this?" Jared asked.

"Because it isn't worth getting over whelmed." Pops stated.

Jared glared at his father. "You disgust me. It's enough that you killed my mom but do you have to go ahead and take whatever is left in my life that is important to me?" he growled.

"I didn't kill your mother for the last time Jared!" Pops yelled out, slamming his head against the wheel in frustration.

"No, you ordered her kill that makes it a whole lot better." Jared said sarcastically. "You have no idea how traumatizing it was for me to watch my own mother die before my eyes."

Pop's hands tightened around the steering wheel. "Do you want to know why I sent for her kill?"

"After years of wondering why daddy would kill mommy, it would be nice." Jared sneered.

"She cheated on me with White*Star." Pops growled.

Jared froze and stared at him. "What?" he muttered.

"Jared… you're a bastard." Pops growled.

"But… I." Jared was speechless. "What?" he muttered.

"Black*Star is your half-brother." Pops responded.

Jared sat back in his seat, trying to recollect his thoughts. "Why are you telling me this now?" he asked.

"Because, I still see you as my son, I raised you." Pops said.

Carlo looked at Maka to see that she was listening to this with wide eyes.

"I loved your mother… but the love was only one-sided." Pops muttered.

"I, I don't know what to say." Jared murmured.

"You don't have to say anything. I'm just telling you why I did what I did." Pops said and sighed. "This conversation is over." He muttered.

"I need to talk to Soul." Maka blurted out.

Carlo froze, a sickening feeling spreading through him. "Why?" he asked her.

"I just need to talk to him." Maka said.

"Speaking of Soul, he sent you a note after I told him that he couldn't tag along." Pops said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the note and reaching back to hand it to Maka but not taking his eyes off the road.

Maka reached out to grab it but Carlo beat her to it, plucked it out of Pops hands, stuffing the note into his pocket.

"What the hell Carlo?" she asked, outraged.

"Training is going to be hard on you; I say that you save this note for a rainy day." Carlo said.

"I want to read it now though." Maka said.

"I think Carlo has a point. Maka, he is going to drill you pretty hard there, it's best if you save the note for a rainy day." Pops said.

Maka sighed and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, this is going to be a long road trip, I decided that I would take you guys to the camp instead of you guys going to the airport, saves me some money." Pops informed.

Jared stayed quiet, looking out the window. How could Pops be so calm after telling him that he wasn't his son? Could he really be so heartless?

Jared couldn't help but remember all those times that he had been hit by who he thought was his father, all those times that he put up with the abuse thinking that it was a father's way of showing love… did Pops even care for him?

About an hour passed and light snores came from the back seat, Jared looked back to see Carlo's head leaning on top of Maka's, both of them sleeping. Maka was Kami's daughter, sure, he saw her like a daughter, but she wasn't exactly his, she's the product of what Kami used to have with this Spirit guy. If it came down to it, would he actually claim her as his daughter? Would Pops claim his as his son?

"Jared, stop it." Pops grumbled feeling the tension that Jared was throwing.

"What?" Jared asked.

"I know what you're thinking. Stop it. You're my son, no matter what type of blood is running through your veins." Pops told him. "Like I said, I raised you to be my son, and that is what you are. I'm proud of what you became."

Jared examined Pops. "But… I'm not your son." Jared mumbled.

"Not biologically… but I still see you as my son. Get that in your head Jared, you can't get rid of me that easily." Pops huffed.

"Did you have to go as far as killing my own mother though?" Jared asked.

Pops sighed. "Don't you think it's a bit too late for that?" Pops asked.

"I guess." Jared mumbled, not satisfied, but he knew he shouldn't push it. "Hey… did you ever have any other children?"

"Nope, I stayed loyal to your mother, while she went off and had sex with my brother." Pops growled.

"I don't get it." Jared mumbled.

"What is there not to get Jared? She slept with my brother." Pops stated, starting to get a bit frustrated.

"No, not that, I understand that." Jared grumbled, turning his attention back to the window.

"Then what is it you don't understand Jared? Everything seems pretty clear to me." Pops said.

Jared sighed and then turned his attention to Pops once more. "Why are you out to avenge White*Star when he slept with your wife?" Jared asked.

Pops sighed and pulled over to the side of the freeway that they were on and looked Jared in the eye. "When the Star Clan was founded, White*Star and I made a pact that we would avenge each other if it came right down to it… although we did split the Star Clan apart all these years ago, I am a man of pride. I will keep my word, no matter what it takes and what has happened." Pops said.

"Would he have done the same thing?" Jared asked.

Pops pulled back into the road. "Jared, White*Star wouldn't be able to do that even if he tried, why do you think that his whole side of the Star Clan failed? He was a careless fool that never thought ahead, he was greedy and nasty." Pops growled.

"It sounds like you hated him." Jared mumbled.

Pops chuckled. "I did." He said.

"Then… I'm confused." Jared said.

"Look, Jared, I hated his guts ever since we were little kids. He was moms favorite, always got what he wanted. A spoiled brat, that's what he was." Pops said as he reached into his pocket to pull out a cigar. "Light it for me will ya?" he asked Jared.

"Sure." He mumbled as he reached for the lighter that was next to his arm rest. Fumbling with it a bit, he held it up to the cigar that Pops was holding and lit it. "Why would you go through all this trouble then, would you still do it if you guys hadn't done the pact?" Jared asked putting the lighter back where he found it as Pops took a drag out of the cigar, rolling down the windows so that the cool air filled the car and the smoke would be let out.

"Of course I would still do it. Any one that carries the Star blood, I'll take care of them. Even though I hated his guts, he is part of the family, and family sticks together. You understand?" Pops asked Jared as he took another drag of his cigar.

"Yeah." Jared said, having a new found respect for Pops. Raising a child that wasn't his own and making sure to avenge a guy that he hated… now there's something you don't see every day. "How much longer until we get there?" Jared asked.

"About ten minutes, we'll have to stop for gas on the way back." Pops said.

"So… you're proud of me?" Jared asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Don't push it Jared." Pops said with a small chuckle.

_**A/N: Sorry I didn't update earlier in the day! Don't forget to review! Don't be afraid to ask any questions either.**_


	39. Chapter 39

"We're here." Pops said, turning off the car.

"Finally, I need to stretch." Jared grumbled, getting out the car and stretching his arms over his head. He sighed in relief and let his hands fall to his sides, and took in his surroundings. "I remember running away from here every time I had the chance… I never got far." Jared said leaning against the car, kicking at the dry dirt. It flew into the air and took its time to settle down once more, only for Jared to kick at it again.

Pops got out of the car and smirked. "And you would just get punished. You never did learn your lesson, did you?" Pops asked as he closed the door behind him.

Jared looked at him. "Nope, I learned my lesson. I just never lost my hope that I would get out of this hell hole as soon as possible." Jared said with a sigh.

"He never did break you." Pops grumbled.

"Maka has a shot at surviving this, she has Carlo, that note Soul sent her, and a bit of faith… she's all set to go." Jared mumbled.

"You're worried for her aren't you?" Pops asked.

"I just can't help but think of all those poor souls that gave up… they lost their humanity. They lost their hope." Jared mumbled.

"Maka's going to make it out of it; I see it in her eyes." Pops told Jared, but he wasn't so sure.

"Mmm." Was all that Jared managed to say as he looked at the house that was in front of them. The ground was all sand; nothing was green in this area. The sun beat down hard here, not letting a single flower grow on this ground. The land that this man owned was acres wide and long, you could never run away because you could easily be seen from the distance, you could forget about hiding, there wasn't a single thing to hide in or on or behind. Jared sighed as he remembered the deafening sound of the whip slamming down on his back, his screams of agony tearing through the air.

Jared winced, feeling the searing pain on his back again. He let out the breath that he didn't know he was holding in and chewed on his bottom lip.

There was only one house that had two bedrooms in it, the room where _**he**_ sleeps and the room where Maka and Carlo will sleep, separate beds of course. There was a kitchen, and a living room and the biggest room was the training room.

"Pops… I don't want Maka here." Jared said.

Pops' eyebrows rose in surprise. "What?" he asked as he opened the trunk to grab the suit cases.

"I don't want Maka here." He repeated.

Pops closed the trunk once the suit cases were out and went to face Jared. "Why?" he asked.

"I don't want him to whip her, or lay a finger on her." Jared said.

"That's his way of teaching Jared; you know that very well, we both have the scars to prove it." Pops said.

"I know I just don't want her to go through that." Jared told him.

"I already paid for the training Jared, there are no refunds." Pops said.

Jared glared at him; they held each other's gaze and Jared knew he wasn't going to win this one. "Alright, but if she comes back with scars, I'll make sure that you get kicked out of the Star Clan." Jared growled.

"You wouldn't." Pops responded.

"I'm second in command. Frank, third in command, normally always takes my side on almost every conflict, and Carlo, who is in fourth, is emotionally attached to my step daughter, and I could easily use that to my advantage. All three of us together… your future in the Star Clan looks bleak Pops." Jared said smugly.

Pops glared at him. "I'll see what I could do." He grumbled grabbing two of the suit cases and walking over to the front door of the house, setting the suit cases down and knocking on the door.

There was a click and then the door opened slightly. Pops could only see the outline of the only man that had put fear in him and those black, dead eyes filling him with it, making him nervous. "Nero! How have you been?" Pops asked, sweating bullets already.

"Wipe that smirk off your face Red." Nero growled in his deep voice that made Pops want to run back into the car and peel out of there. Nero glared in Pops direction while opening the door wider to let him inside.

Pops did as he was told; picking up the suit case and walking inside, the room he was in bringing back horrible memories.

"Well, where is the victim?" Nero asked, making Pops jump.

"Uh, before I bring them, I need you to do me a favor." Pops said, setting the suit cases down on the ground.

Nero raised his eye brow in response, feeling that words were not needed to answer Pop's question.

"I know that you've been teaching the Star family ever since White and I were kids, but I need you to change your tactic with this girl that I'm about to bring in." Pops explained, looking up at the tall, buff man that was fifteen years his senior. Those black eyes were cold and heartless, the raven black hair messy, untouched from when the man woke up. His skin a deathly pale color that looks like it hasn't been touched by the sun.

"I have never changed my ways of teaching, what makes you think that I will change them for you?" Nero growled, his hand twitching for the leather whip that hung lightly on his hip.

Pops saw this, but knew that if he showed weakness, he wasn't going to get what he wanted. "I need this girl scar-less, that means you can't lay a finger on her." Pops told him.

"I don't like repeating myself Red, you know that very well. I will do it once and only this once. I have never changed my ways of teaching, what makes you think that I will change them for you?" Nero asked, his jaw tight, his glare never settling.

Pops fidgeted. "I'll pay you double this time." Pops offered.

"Do you really think you could bribe me? Have I taught you nothing Red?" Nero asked.

Pops felt a sweat drop roll down the side of his face. "If you don't do this, I will be forced to find a new teacher." Pops said his voice cracking.

Nero let out a small, lifeless chuckle. "I'll give in this once for trying." He said. "Alright then, tell me what you need me to fix in this girl, and what her strengths are."

"I'll let you find out her strengths, but I will tell you what her weaknesses are. She lets people get way too close to her. She's quick to assume things; she rushes into things, sometimes, not all the times. When someone she is close to is in danger, she reacts too quickly, she doesn't stop to think. When she attacks, she lets go, she doesn't think about what she does. That's about all I could think of off the top of my head." Pops said.

Nero nodded. "And you said on the phone that there was another student?" Nero asked, glancing out the open door to see Jared looking up at the old house, a frown on his face. "It isn't him is it?" Nero asked.

"No, do you remember Carlo?" Pops asked him.

"Carlo? He's coming back? What did he do to get himself back here?" Nero asked.

"He's Maka's weapon, the girl that you are going to straighten out. He's getting a bit tad attached to her though." Pops told him.

"That's odd, last time I checked, he thought of woman to be lesser than him." Nero murmured, his deep voice scratching at Pops ears, making him even more on edge than he already was.

"Maka seemed to have changed him over night." Pops responded.

"Get out of here Red. I have some students to teach." Nero said, smiling a demonic smile. The poor bastard, Carlo must be love-struck to come to this hell again.

Pops knew that smile, it was his trouble smile. He wasted no time in getting the hell out of that house of horrors. "Jared, wake up Maka and Carlo." Pops said.

Jared did as he was told and opened the door, tapping Carlo lightly on the shoulder.

"Hmm?" Carlo mumbled lightly, not wanting to wake up.

"We're here Carlo." Jared told him.

Carlo sat up straight and rubbed his eye with one hand and with the other, he lightly shook Maka. "Maka, come on." He mumbled.

"Mmm." She grumbled, not opening her eyes.

"Maka, we have to get going." Carlo said, shaking out of his sleep and stepping out of the car.

"Fine." She muttered, sitting up and rubbing her eyes as she scooted towards the open door.

Jared helped her out of the car and hugged her to him. "Be strong, don't let him get to you okay? I did what I could to make sure that you made it out of this with your humanity intact, but I make no guarantees." He whispered into her ear.

"Is it really that bad?" Maka asked him.

Jared winced. "I'm sorry Maka." He muttered and let go of her, closing the door that she had just come out of, opening his and stepping inside, closing it behind him.

"Carlo, take your suit cases inside with you." Pops told him, shaking his hand goodbye and then turned and stretched out his hand.

Maka took a small step back.

Pops frowned. "If you can't get over my slap, you sure as hell won't survive here Maka. You have to be stronger than this." He warned her.

Maka looked down at his hand and looked up at him. She threw her arms around his torso and hugged him.

"I'm sorry Maka." He muttered. "I'm sorry for the slap, and I'm sorry for this… but it has to be done." He muttered as he hugged her back and then let her go, walking around the car and getting into the driver's seat and driving away, leaving behind a trail of dust.

Carlo picked up his suit cases and motioned for Maka to follow him. "Whatever you do Maka… don't question the guy." He told her as they approached the open front door. "Stay quiet, unless you are talked to… and try to stay on his good side, if he even has one anymore."

"Nero, we're here." Carlo called out as he stepped inside of the house.

"It's five in the morning; it's time to start the day." Nero said from behind them, closing the front door with a loud slam, and turning the lock with a flick of the wrist.

Maka jumped, her heart thudding, her eyes widening in fear as she got into her attack stance. She felt as if she had just stepped into a terror movie, normal people don't wait behind you to close the door like that.

"You must be Maka. My names Nero." He said his deep voice hitting Maka's ears with such a power that she flinched. She made the mistake of looking into his cold, lifeless, black eyes that sent cold ice into her soul.

Carlo wrapped his arm around her shoulder to steady her.

This didn't go unnoticed by Nero, and then he saw the scar on Maka's cheek.

He frowned. "You know, I don't like it when my students have scars that aren't caused by me." He said, his curiosity sparking, his hand twitching for the whip that was practically burning his hip.

Carlo noticed and stepped in front of Maka.

Nero straightened out in surprise but then smiled. "This is going to be fun." He muttered.


	40. Chapter 40

_**A/N: If you get confused later on, which I swear to you that you will, everything should be explained in the next chapter, the next chapter would be a chapter on Nero's past which should explain what he is able to do later on in the chapter, just so you know I haven't gone completely crazy.**_

_**By the way, sorry I couldn't update yesterday, I was at a baby shower. I got candy! I love candy! XD**_

"So here are the ground rules. Rule number one, wake up on time. Rule number two, do not question my methods. Rule number three, do not disobey me. Those are the main rules; the other ones will be made up along the remaining time that you are here." Nero said with a bored look on his face. "Here's the thing that is going to be hard on me though, Pops told me that I should not touch you… Maka is it?" he asked, but Maka and Carlo knew that he didn't care, but Maka nodded anyways. "Although, there is a catch… he didn't mention anything about not hurting this young boy." Nero said with a twisted grin as he grabbed onto his whip and flicked it in Carlo's direction.

The whip twirled around Carlo's wrist, making his wince. Nero pulled on the whip, pulling Carlo along with it, making him crash into Nero. Nero turned him around and twisted the whip around his neck. Nero slung his arm over Carlo's shoulder and held onto him tight. Carlo stayed still, knowing the consequences if he disobeys.

"One little mistake and your weapon gets what you should have been punished for. He's been through this training already, and now because of you… he's going to suffer through it once more, perhaps even more painful than the last." Nero said, tightening the whip a bit.

"Let go of him!" Maka exclaimed making a move to grab the whip.

"No!" Carlo said, wincing when the whip tightened considerably around his throat, stopping Maka before she did the stupid thing she had planned. "Think things through before doing them." Carlo managed to say, his jaw clenching to deal with the pain; he was having trouble breathing already so he tried to save as much breath as he could.

"I see what Pops meant when he said you let go. You need to think things through. Watch what'll happen to your weapon all because of your foolishness. I need to put you in your place before you start acting up against me." Nero told Maka as he pulled the whip off of Carlo's neck and pushed him in the direction of the training room.

Carlo took in deep breaths, the skin on his neck raw from the whip.

"No! Leave him alone!" Maka growled, reaching out to grab Nero's arm to stop him.

Nero froze; he turned in Maka's direction and pushed her away from him, snarling at her. "You dare touch me in such a manner?" he shouted, his booming voice making Maka flinch, Carlo's eyes widening, he had never seen him so pissed, no one had ever been so stupid to actually touch him that way. "There are things that I could do that could leave you scar-less, but they will still hurt you." Nero snarled, taking a step in Maka's direction.

"No. You were going to hurt me, not her." Carlo growled stepping in front of Maka.

Nero glared at him, but he took in a deep breath and smiled his demonic smile. "Alright then, once I'm done with you and the sun comes up… Maka is running for three hours instead of the original two hours that I had planned, there will be no beverages for her." Nero said.

Carlo glared at him but followed Nero into the training room. He turned around to see Maka. "Don't listen, put on head phones or something just… don't listen." He said calmly, but Maka knew better, the look in his eyes shouted out painful fear.

"Carlo-" Maka began but Carlo held his head up high and walked down the stairs with a determined look on his face.

Maka ran after him but he looked back at her. "Don't Maka." He warned.

"No, let her watch." Nero said standing underneath two chains that hung from the ceiling, his demonic grin stretching from ear to ear.

Carlo's jaw clenched. "I don't want her to see this." Carlo said through clenched teeth.

"She needs to watch." Nero said with a dark, yet lifeless chuckle.

Carlo looked back at Maka and frowned. "I'm sorry." He muttered and walked to stand under the two chains along with Nero, his back to Maka.

"You know the drill Carlo." Nero said, his grin turning to some sort of demonic smile.

Carlo refused to look in Maka's direction as he took off his shirt and let it fall to the floor.

Maka's breath caught in her throat as she saw all the scars on his back. Her eyes landed on the whip in Nero's hand and the scars on Carlo's back, the chains hanging from the ceiling and she connected the dots. "No!" she yelled out, running in Carlo's direction.

Nero glared at her, his hand extending in her direction.

Maka's eyes widened something that she couldn't see plowed against her and held her against the wall, knocking the breath out of her lungs. She looked up at him in shock.

"You don't know the things I'm capable of doing Maka. Control yourself." Nero growled his black eyes had turned an eerie shade of white.

Carlo closed his eyes and took deep breaths as he raised his right hand in the air. The chain circled around his arm with a clinking noise. Carlo got a good grip of it as he raised his other hand in the air, the other chain doing the same thing.

Maka watched with horror as it started.

Carlo hung his head, trying to control his breathing as the chains lifted him until his feet weren't touching the ground.

Nero's grip on the whip tightened as he started to whip it against Carlo's back. Carlo's jaw tightened, his eyes shutting tight with agony, his hold on the chains tightening with every hit on his back.

Nero wasn't satisfied with the first few hits. His eyes narrowed as he concentrated more energy on the whip instead of on what was holding Maka to the wall. He let Maka fall to the ground. She didn't feel the pain of the fall though; she was frozen in horror at what was happening in front of her.

"Carlo, last time I heard of you, you thought of women so lowly. You changed for this girl?" Now that he could concentrate more on his whip, Nero let Carlo have it. The whip slammed on top of one of Carlo's old scars and opened it up, blood pooling from the re-opened wound.

Carlo held back a scream, refusing to traumatize Maka, so he began to breathe in through his nose, trying to find his happy place as Nero began to open up his old wounds.

"Do you really think she would take your place in those chains?" Nero asked with another flick of his wrist, the whip opening up yet another wound.

Carlo sucked in a breath of pain. "I don't want her too." He managed to say through his clenched teeth.

"Are you really foolish enough to think that she cares for some low life like you?" Nero asked with another blow.

Carlo arched forward in agony, biting on his lip until he tasted blood, shaking his head at the question.

Maka was afraid to speak up, fearing that it might cause more pain on Carlo than it already has.

After minutes of this Carlo gave in a let out a scream of agony, he couldn't hold it in. The chains rattled as they loosened their grip on Carlo.

Carlo's now weak arms couldn't support him anymore and he fell to the ground, his body twitching in searing pain as blood poured out of his open wounds.

The blood dripped to the ground next to him as Carlo panted, grunting a few times in between his gasps of air.

"Get up Carlo." Nero growled.

Carlo's arms tried to support his body but they gave out underneath him and caused him to fall to the ground once more.

Nero chuckled. "Maka, look at your weapon." He said.

Maka was against the wall, tears in her eyes as she looked at her weapon. "I'm sorry Carlo, I couldn't help you." She managed to say and then looked up at the man in front of her. "What kind of human are you?" she asked, angry.

"Who ever said I was human?" he asked.

Carlo felt his eyes slowly start to close. "M-Maka." He stuttered.

Maka quickly crawled over to his side. "I'm so sorry." She said.

"Not your fault." Carlo managed to say before he passed out from the pain.

"Don't listen to him Maka, you are the reason he is here in the first place. If it weren't for you, he wouldn't be here right now." Nero told her. "This is all your fault."

_**A/N: Yes, Nero has special powers which, like I said, will be explained in the next chapter. X)**_


	41. Chapter 41

_**A/N: its official you guys, I'm addicted to Tumblr. XD Another thing I just noticed… I actually LIKE writing dark stories like these… O.O I really have no idea what's wrong with me, I want to know, but at the same time I don't… I mean, I haven't had any traumatic experiences other than my mom having cancer; I'm just a normal girl that is usually always happy… I really do not know what's wrong with me…**_

_**Oh jezz, I haven't done this in a while, Songs I listened to:**_

_**1)Be My Escape- Reliant K**_

_**2)Dance with the Devil- Breaking Benjamin**_

_**3)Imaginary- Evanescence **_

_**4) Haunted- Evanescence**_

Nero looked out the only window that was in the training room and saw that the sun was out already. His demonic grin graced his face as he glanced over at Maka. "It's time for your three hours of running Maka, get it over with soon because we have a lot more to do today." Nero said, as he walked over to where Maka sat next to Carlo, silently crying, horror and anger filling her.

"What about Carlo? He'll bleed out!" Maka yelled out.

"You better watch that tone with me." Nero growled, picking up Maka the tilled floor by the collar and slamming her against the red brick walls of the house. "I will tolerate no such thing. Not while I'm still breathing." He growled, his black eyes turning a deathly white like they had before.

"What are you?" Maka asked, her voice shaking as the tears kept streaming down her face.

"That is none of your business, now go do your three hours of running around in the back yard. You could only take three breaks, and you will get nothing to drink afterword's. This is to teach you that no matter how tired you get, the enemy will always be out to get you, you are to keep running and never look back." Nero growled dropping Maka. "Now go, before I change my mind about making sure that Carlo doesn't die." Nero growled under his breath, making Maka's breath cut short. She hurried to her feet and rushed out of the room, wanting to make sure that her weapon makes it out of this alive.

"That was a terrible thing for you to do." A voice inside his head grumbled.

"Shut up." Nero growled as he bent over to pick up Carlo's slacked body, not caring about the blood that was dripping off of the body's back and onto him and on the ground.

"The poor girl, the least you could do is give her something to drink afterword's." the voice whispered again.

"I said shut up god damn it!" Nero yelled out as he walked out of the training room and into the hallway, the red walls felt like they were closing up on him, his guilt starting to pull at the edges of his soul. His eyes looked at all the dark spots on the wall, each one of them a different kill.

"I told you to stop." The voice told him.

"I don't need you here you know." Nero growled as he shook out of his small daze and went to open the bedroom that Maka and Carlo would be sleeping in, walking over to Carlo's bed and setting him down there.

"It's bad enough you swallowed my soul, but you're using my body as a way to hurt others. You've been using it for a while now, and I think you should retire." The voice in the back of his mind suggested.

"Could you stop that?" he mumbled as he grabbed the first aid kit that was under the bed and opened it.

"Stop what?" the voice asked.

"The guilt trips."

The voice thought for a few seconds. "No, I can't, I am, of course, the only thing keeping you sane, the only thing holding you back." The voice whispered.

"Thank you." Nero whispered as he bowed his head in a moment of weakness.

"That's what partners do." The voice whispered, a small chuckle filling the depths of Nero's mind.

"But… I betrayed you." Nero whispered.

"Yeah, you did. But we are still partners. You're my meister… I'd do anything for you. Even let you kill me, and I did." The voice whispered.

As Nero started to stitch up Carlo's wounds the voice seemed to bring up memories that he did not want to remember. Nero tried to fight them back, but his partner was persistent. Nero had lost that fight from the beginning.

_-Flash Back-_

"_Run faster Nero!" the whip in Nero's hand yelled out as they ran._

"_I'm trying!" Nero exclaimed, out of breath, the demon quickly approaching._

_The moon smiled down below them, blood dripping from between its teeth, its crazed eyes following the doomed partners. The moons teeth ground against each other, just waiting for the blood shed to begin._

_Nero couldn't see a thing and the moon did not grace him by lighting the way. Nero stumbled and fell forward._

"_Nero!" the whip called out, transforming back into it's human form and tried to pull him up but was thrown away from the body._

"_Don't get in the way." The demon growled, his red skin hot to touch, burning the weapons arm where skin contact was made._

_The weapon hit it's head against a brick wall, immediately blood started to drip down his forehead. The hit struck some sort of nerve making the human turn into it's weapon from._

"_Nero, you've been a bad boy." The demon smirked, it's deep voice making Nero's breath stop._

"_Get away." Nero growled, trying to stand up._

"_Nu, uh." The demon, said, his foot going to slam down on Nero's chest so that he could stay down on the ground._

_Nero hissed at the burning sensation that spread throughout him._

"_You made a deal with me Nero. Your body in exchange for me stopping your mother's suffering." The devil said._

"_I meant to cure her disease! Not kill her!" Nero yelled at him, tears collecting in his blue eyes._

"_Foolish child!" the demon called out, demonic laughter filling the air that surrounded them, causing Nero to start to shiver in fear. "The only way to end a person's suffering is to end their life. Medicine only prolongs the inevitable. Every mortal will die sooner or later. You did your mother a favor. She had about twenty years left in her, but thanks to you, she's gone, and she has you to thank for it." The demon said, it's black eyes staring into Nero's blue eyes without flinching._

"_You bastard!" Nero yelled out, rage filling him, his arms grabbing at the foot on his chest, both of his arms starting to sizzle at the touch of the demon._

_The demon let out a chuckle, his foot unmoving. "I'll take your body now." The demon said, as he held up one red hand, all of his nails were filed down, except for his pointer finger. The nail was long and thin, black as night._

_The demon held the tip of the nail to where Nero's neck connected to the rest of his body, a small chuckle escaping the demon as he pressed the nail harder against the skin, causing it to break. "I love this part." He chuckled._

_The demon removed his foot from Nero's chest._

_Nero thought that this was his chance, but when he tried to move, he couldn't, he was paralyzed. Realization hit him and he made the mistake of looking up at the demon. Its eyes were no longer black, they were white, his demonic smile reaching from ear to ear, showing off its rotting teeth. "This is going to hurt." The demon taunted as it dragged its nail against Nero's chest, ripping it open._

_Nero tried to scream out for help, or at least in pain, but he couldn't, he was frozen._

_The demon drunk in the look of horror and pain that Nero had on and he could practically feel his strength returning him. "I'm dragging this out for a reason." The demon said, half way through with cutting open Nero's chest and stomach._

_Tears were escaping Nero's eyes, the pain was unbearable._

"_I feed on fear, pain, negativity, and you, Nero. You're a gold mine." The demon said with his demonic laugh as it fed._

_Nero's eyes rolled back into his head, he couldn't take the pain anymore and he passed out much to the demons disappointment._

_It seemed like hours and Nero woke up to see that he was on his knees and both hands were occupied. One with the whip that was his partner and the other held a blue soul._

_Nero could only feel horror fill him as his hand held the blue soul up to his mouth. Nero had no control as he swallowed the blue soul that was his partners._

'_Help me.' Were the words that echoed into his mind._

_-End flash back-_

"And that's what I've been doing. I've been helping you all this time Nero." The voice whispered.

Nero stayed quiet as he finished up healing Carlo, cleaning up his blood.

"You know what I find sad though… you don't remember my name." the weapon whispered. "Even after I gave up my life for you… you don't remember my name." the weapon whispered.

Nero glanced at the clock. "Three hours are up, Maka has to come inside to complete the next lesson." Nero whispered as he stood up and left the room going outside to see that Maka had somehow ripped her jeans so that they were shorts and took off her jacket and ripped off her sleeves. Her shoes were laying on the ground along with her socks. Maka was red, but she never stopped her running.

"Give the poor girl something to drink." The voice whispered. "It's the least you could do."

Nero took in a deep breath and then let it out as he thought it over… he finally had complete control over his body over all these years, but his soul was still tainted with the demons darkness, that he will never be able to break.

"Maka!" he called out. "I've decided that it would be best for you to take a drink of water. I need you to be well enough for the next lesson."

"Thank you." the voice said.

"Shut up." Nero muttered as Maka took her sweet time to pick up her stuff and walk back into the house, panting like a dog.

_**A/N: Hey you guys! Sorry if I haven't answered your reviews, like I said, I'm addicted to Tumblr now. XD I'll get around to answering them soon if I haven't answered them with this chapter. Just so you know, I've written like five short stories, not here, on my tumblr. Go and read them if you want to, if you do, tell me what you think about them. **_


	42. Chapter 42

_**A/N: So recently, I haven't been having a whole lot of Soul Eater Evans in my life… so I decided to go back to his side of the story for at least this one chapter. ^_^**_

Soul was snoring on the ground of the guest room when the door creaking jolted him awake.

Sitting up quickly, he had to shield his eyes from the light that was coming from the hallways. "Rise and shine boys! It's eleven in the morning! Get up!" Kami yelled into the room.

Dagger groaned and rolled onto his side on the bed, clearly not wanting to get up.

"I made waffles!" Kami exclaimed.

Soul immediately got up. "Good morning Mrs. Star." He said.

"Soul, call me Kami." She said as she lightly slapped his shoulder. "You could go freshen up in the bathroom at the end of the hallway." She said as she went to push Dagger off of the bed. He landed on the ground with a loud thump and a groan.

Soul went to the bathroom and turned on the light, going straight for the sink and splashing his face with water.

The watch on his wrist beeped. Soul flipped it open to see the image of Justin. "Hey Mr. Law." He said, but frowned when Mr. Law didn't smile back. His face was filled with hatred but it vanished and was replaced by a calm, controlled look. "Mr. Evans, what have you found out so far?" he asked, in a calm tone, but there was a sharp edge to it.

"I found out that they are sending Maka to a training facility to train her for some sort of battle." Soul whispered.

Justin's eyes widened. "You don't mean Maka Albarn do you?" he asked. "How the hell did they get to her? Isn't she supposed to be with her mother? Is she a captive?" Mr. Law asked.

"Chill Mr. Law. Look, long story short, Maka's part of the Star Clan now, and they're offering me to be in it too. What do you think I should do?" Soul asked. "If I don't do it, then they're going to kill me." Soul whispered.

Justin's eye brows rose and he couldn't help the smile that graced his face. "Calm down Mr. Evans, if you are really loyal to the DWMA you wouldn't join the Star Clan." Justin said.

"But they'll kill me!" Soul growled.

"I already answered your question Soul. What else do we need to know?" Justin asked him.

Soul gritted his teeth. "No." he said, with a defeated sigh.

"Alright then, keep finding information for us." Justin said with a satisfied smile as he closed his watch. He doesn't need Soul to get to Blair, he could easily get his daughter back on his own.

Soul sighed and closed his watch and walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen where Dagger was angrily munching on his waffles and the baby was sitting in its high chair while Kami fed it. "Hey Soul, I already served your food." Kami said, pointing with the spoon full of baby food in the direction of Soul's spot on the table, directly across from Dagger.

"It looks delicious Kami." Soul said, sending her a smile.

"Thank you Soul, at least someone appreciates my cooking." She said with a huff in Daggers direction.

"I would have appreciated your cooking if you hadn't pushed me off the bed." Dagger mumbled under his breath as he took another bite out of his pancake.

Soul rolled his eyes and began to eat his breakfast as silence filled the room. "When is Maka coming back?" Soul asked.

Kami sighed and looked down at the baby food in her hands. "I'd rather not talk about it." she muttered as she began to spoon feed Jason.

Soul sighed and finished his food.

"Are we supposed to stay in the house, or could we leave to go for a walk or something?" Dagger asked.

"You're stuck here. Sorry you guys." Kami mumbled as Jason finished his food.

"Maka is coming back… right?" Soul asked.

"She's coming back… I'm just not sure if she will be the same." Kami whispered.

"What do you mean?" Soul asked her.

"Jared talked to me about what happens over there… and he showed me the scars he has… I couldn't do anything to stop my baby girl from going there. I feel so useless." Kami muttered as fresh tears started to leak out of her eyes.

"Scars?" Soul exclaimed, standing up quickly, his hands slamming down against the table.

Kami jumped. "Lower the tone and don't smack things Soul." She told him.

"Why would he have scars? It's just training!" Soul exclaimed.

"You have a point Soul, it is training… but this man tortures his students when they don't do something the way he wants it done." Kami muttered.

"You have to take me over there." Soul growled.

"Calm yourself down Soul." Kami responded, wiping away the tears that had escaped her.

"No! This is my Maka we're talking about!" Soul yelled, causing Jason to cry.

Kami glared at him. "Your Maka?" he asked.

"I'll be in the other room listening to this." Dagger said as he stood up and walked out of the kitchen.

Soul realized his mistake. "I-" he started but he was interrupted.

"No, Soul. If you Maka was really yours, then none of this would have happened, you would have made sure that she never came back to me… you would have done so many things to keep her life in order… but you just messed it up for the rest of us." Kami growled at him.

Soul hung his head. "I regret a lot of things… but I still love Maka. She's my best friend, my meister… my happiness." He whispered.

Kami shook her head. "Maka isn't your meister anymore. You lost her." Kami growled, grabbing her crying child carefully and storming out of the room.

"Ouch." Dagger said with a chuckle as he leaned against the door way, this was his chance to rub lemon into Soul's wounds.

"Shut up." Soul growled at him. "I have to get to Maka somehow." He muttered.


	43. Chapter 43

_**A/N: so I was working on this chapter, trust me I really was, but then I read back and decided that I would scrap the idea I had because it wouldn't lead the story to the direction I wanted, so now we're back to Maka. ^_^**_

"Follow me to the training room." Nero said in his usual monotone voice as he walked down the hallway after giving Maka a glass of water which she greedily drank.

Maka set the cup down in the sink and followed Nero down the hall and into the training room, only to be thrown against a wall.

Her breath was knocked out of her, her feet dangling in the air as she looked down at black eyes. "What the hell was that for?" Maka managed to say as she took in deep breaths.

Nero let go of her shoulders, letting her fall to the ground. "You need to expect the unexpected. Always be on guard no matter how tired you are." Nero told her as he turned his back to here.

Maka heard a distinct rattling but paid no attention to it as she got up. She was dusting herself off when she felt something cold and metallic wrap around her wrists. Looking down, her eyes widened when she was pulled into the air, the sound of chains rattling filling the room.

Maka kicked and thrashed.

"You're weak." Nero growled at her.

'_This isn't the way to teach your students Nero. I've told you time, and time again that you shouldn't do this! She's in pain! Let her go!'_ the voice of his weapon yelled at him.

"No. She needs to learn." Nero growled under his breath as his hand grabbed the whip that was hanging loosely on his hip. "You're lucky Maka. Pops told me not to leave scars on you… but I know ways of making sure you still feel pain without being scared." Nero said clutching the whip in both hands, his cold, black eyes turning into a deep white as he concentrated on the whip. A few seconds passed and the whip was lit with black flames.

Maka's breathing hitched as she looked away, preparing herself for the pain. "Do not flinch when you feel pain. It's a sign of weakness." Nero growled at her as he lifted his whip and let it drop on Maka's side, a loud smack echoing through the room and then a screech of agony filled the air. Maka's eyes shut tightly.

Nero watched as the black flames licked Maka's skin with every hit, leaving no mark, but he knew the agony it caused.

The scream reached Carlo's ears, his eyes opening. "Maka." He muttered as he tried to sit up on the bed, his body screaming in protest, but Carlo was determined.

He pushed himself to stand up, only to fall over, his legs giving underneath him. He landed on his back. Grunting in pain, he rolled over and started to drag his body out of the bedroom as yet another agony filled scream hit his ears.

Taking in deep breaths he stretched his arms in front of him to pull himself closer in the direction of the screams. A few minutes passed and he finally reached the training room. Grunting, his grabbed onto the doorway and pulled himself off, wiping off the sweat from his forehead, a growl emitting from him as he leaned against the doorway.

"Let go of her." Carlo managed to say as black and white dots began to cloud his vision.

Panting, he tried to blink away the spots, trying to concentrate on Nero, but the pain that rushed throughout his whole body made that hard.

Nero looked back at him, a smirk on his face as his eyes went from white to black, the flames on the whip disappearing. "Yet another thing I've taught you, and you don't listen." Nero told him as the chains let Maka's quivering body drop to the floor, gasping for breaths, tears in her eyes as she curled into herself, whimpering.

"Don't be the hero." Nero growled as his mind wandered back to when he was younger, the foolish mistake of trying to save his mother.

'**Nero, unleash your fury on him.'** A voice whispered in his ear.

Nero's grip on the whip tightened. "I thought you were gone." He growled under his breath.

'**You managed to hide me well… but I'll always be here." **The demon said with a smirk.

Nero's grip on reality was starting to weaken, and with a blink of an eye, he was standing in front of his mother, whip in hand.

"What is going on Nero?" his weapon exclaimed.

His mother's, once loving blue eyes were now wide with fear, her horrible cough getting the best of her as she tried to tell her son not to hit her.

Nero had tears in his eyes as he beat his mother to death, having no control of his body, nor his weapon having control of theirs.

"It is part of the deal… you never said how I could help her… so I chose to use you." the demon controlling his body chuckled as he stood in the sidelines, watching Nero with a sick twisted smile.

A scream of terror filled Nero's thoughts. Blinking he saw what was happening while he wasn't in control.

Carlo was dangling in the air, one of the chains wrapped around his neck, his face turning a light shade of purple as his hands scratched at the metal. Maka who was still quivering from the pain was pounding on Nero's chest, telling him to let her weapon go, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Nero blinked in surprise… it has been a while since he had a black out.

The sound of chains rattled and Carlo fell to the ground, gasping for air, clutching at his chest, tears burning his eyes.

Maka crawled over to him and hugged him to her, sobbing. "You idiot!" she growled at him through sobs.

Nero decided to get out of there before he blacked out again, his teeth ground together as he slammed the door of his room shut. "I thought I had gotten rid of you… but it's obvious that I'll be stuck with you until I pass away."

"_**You won't pass away Nero… Thanks to me… you're immortal."**_ The demon said as he let out a demonic chuckle that filled Nero's mind.

Nero stopped breathing. "What?" he mumbled.

"No matter how you die… you'll always come back to life. Haven't you noticed that you stopped ageing a while ago? Haven't you noticed that you haven't bled out every time you slash your skin? You idiot! You really thought you were going to die!" the demon said chuckling.

Nero fell back onto his bed, blinking away the surprise. "But… I want to die, I want to leave." He whispered.

"Tough luck. You can't." the demon said, drinking in Nero's pain.


	44. Chapter 44

Days passed and Maka's body was sore, but she put up with it. She had no right to complain. She kept comparing her injuries with Carlo's.

Maka kneeled by his bed side, her heart breaking at the sight of him. In the past few days, Maka kept making mistakes… and her weapon paid for them. "I'm sorry Carlo." She managed to say as she wiped away her tears.

"Maka, how many times do I have to tell you that it isn't a big deal?" Carlo told her. He was lying on his back, his blanket covering him as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Not a big deal? Carlo, look at you!" Maka exclaimed, grabbing onto the blanket and gave it a tug, but it wouldn't budge. Carlo wouldn't let her take it off of him. He knew how badly it would affect her if she saw his injuries before going to bed.

"Good night Maka, you need to do your best tomorrow, you need some rest." Carlo told her, looking her in the eyes with a stern look.

Maka shook her head as she let go of his blanket and looked out the small window to see the stars in the night sky.

"Let's run away." She muttered to him without looking away from the window.

"Maka, he'll give us punishments." Carlo told her.

"It'll be worth it. I don't want to see you hurt anymore." Maka told him.

"Do your best and we'll be out of here on schedule. We only have a few days left of training Maka, it's not worth it." Carlo told her.

"You don't understand Carlo!" Maka growled at him. "I'm tired of all of this!" she exclaimed.

"You think I'm not either?" Carlo responded. "How many times do you think I have to be whipped for every stupid little mistake you do?" he growled at her.

Maka winced and looked down at her hands.

"Maka, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it out loud." Carlo told her, reaching out for her, but Maka pulled out of grasp.

"No need to be sorry Carlo. I understand. After all, you are the one getting hurt right?" Maka mumbled, getting up, her feet dragging her to her bed across the room and she laid down on it, her back to him.

"Maka." He started but her fake snores interrupted him.

He rolled his eyes with a sigh as he looked up at the ceiling. "Good night Maka." He muttered, his hand reaching under his pillow to pull out the piece of paper that has been troubling him.

"Good night Carlo." She mumbled.

Carlo quietly opened the note, glancing in her direction for a few seconds, but then looked back at the note. He waited a few minutes until Maka's breathing was shallow to read it.

_Maka,_

_I heard about what happened to Black*Star and Tsubaki… I wanted to go to the hospital along with Red*Star and Jared, but they wouldn't let me. So I'm writing you this quick note. Black*Star is a strong guy, you could trust him to try his best Maka, don't worry too much about him or you'll end up hurting yourself._

_I really wish I could be there for you. You're one of the only friends I have left that I could trust… and I love you. I don't care if you don't love me back; just remember that I'll be here waiting for you when you return._

_-Soul_

Carlo's hands shook with fury as he crumpled up the piece of paper and stuffed back under his pillow. There was no way that Maka was going to read that note! He won't let her!

Carlo froze, his hands going to rest on his chest. '_Why do I feel like… like this? This can't be jealousy… could it?' _Carlo thought to himself. "I can't be jealous." He whispered to himself. "I don't love her… I can't. I'm supposed to hate women."

He looked over at her, his world starting to crash down on him as he started to connect the dots. He hated this place and he swore he would never come back… but look at him now, he's here for Maka. He swore he would defend himself if Nero ever whipped him again… but he doesn't… for Maka… he's doing all of this for Maka. "I can't be in love." He said desperately, shaking his head rapidly. "I can't!" he growled.

Maka shifted in her bed, rubbing her eyes as she let out a small yawn. "What's wrong Carlo?" Maka asked him.

Carlo's heart warmed up, and it was like nothing he had ever felt before. "Nothing Maka… nothing." He responded. _'Why am I feeling this way? This is only going to end in heart break… I don't want to end up hurt.'_ He thought to himself, but then a small smile formed on his face when he looked over at Maka as her breathing started to slow down once more. "You're worth the pain." He said under his breath as his own eyes started to close, a small smile on his face. "Maybe… maybe this will end in a happy ending for me, after all the pain I've been in." he mumbled with a small yawn, sleep taking over him.


	45. Chapter 45

Kilik walked down the hallways of the DWMA, Pot of Thunder and Pot of Fire, his new weapons, following him closely. "Maka would never do that… I know Maka, she would never join the enemy." He hissed.

Kid walked up behind him, putting his hand on his shoulder. "Kilik… I'm sorry, but we should really be heading towards Tsubaki's funeral." He told him, squeezing his shoulder.

Kilik looked back at him. "Do you think that all of this could have been avoided if we had just convinced Maka to stay? Black*Star would be here, and so would Maka and Soul… and Tsubaki would be alive…" Kilik trailed off, guilt starting to fill him.

Kid let go of his shoulder. "Maka chose her own path, and although I regret to say this… we have to stop her." He told him, a look of determination in his golden eyes.

"This is Maka we're talking about Kid. This is the girl we used to go to school with. This is the girl that asked us for help… this is Maka, our friend. How could you say something like that?" Kilik growled, his hands clenching into fists.

Pot of Thunder gently tugged on his sleeve while Pot of Lightning hugged Pot of thunder, scared. They haven't seen this side of their meister outside of a mission.

Kilik sighed and smiled down at them. "I'm fine." He muttered, bending down to pat their heads.

"Kilik, Maka has chosen the path of evil. If we get the chance, we'll correct her, but if there is no other choice… we'll have to get rid of her. It hurts me too Kilik, she was a close friend." Kid muttered.

"No…" Kilik growled.

"Kilik… we all know that you had a crush on her, but you knew that wasn't going to go anywhere." Kid told him.

Kilik glared at him. "I was her best friend, and I still am. You were her friend to Kid! What happened to all the support that we gave her? Did you out of nowhere stop caring for her?" Kilik said through clenched teeth, trying to keep calm.

"I think we better get going. They're about to bury Tsubaki… well at least her casket. It's too bad we couldn't get a hold of her body, damn Star Clan burned her." Kid growled, straightening his posture and turning to walk away.

Kilik sighed and followed him, his weapons not far behind. "I… I never thought the day would come when I would have to defend Maka…"

"Kilik, out of all of us, you were the one that took the news the hardest… other than Spirit. It's only natural for you to be upset." Kid told him as they walked out of the school.

Kilik decided to stay quiet as he walked. There were so many things he wanted to yell out… but he decided that they were better left unsaid. Maka is innocent, this he knew. Maka would never betray the DWMA… right? At least, the Maka that he knew wouldn't. Maybe that thing that happened with Soul and Blair affected her that much…

"I think she's just acting out of pain." Kilik said.

"By joining the enemy? Kilik, are you listening to yourself? Drop it." Kid growled as they approached the funeral. Everyone they knew was crowding around the empty casket, and even a few new faces.

Off in the distance stood two shadows, watching over the others. "N-now?" one asked the other.

The other stayed quiet, watching as they lowered the casket to the ground. "They're weak at the moment… but no, not weak enough." The other hissed.

"M-medusa… when then?" the other asked.

"Crona, you have to be patient. I hear they have a battle coming up…" Medusa trailed off, a sinister grin reached her face.

Crona looked up at his mother. "I-is that when w-we attack? I don't know how to deal with being patient." Crona muttered.

Ragnarok popped up from behind him. "But I want to attack now!" he hissed.

"All in time Ragnarok… all in time." Medusa muttered as she put her hands on Cronas shoulders, Ragnarok disappearing once more into Cronas back as they walked away from the heart breaking scene in front of them.

Kilik turned to watch the shadows walk away. Confused, and deciding to follow his gut, he walked over to watch them leave… who were they?

_**A/N: Sorry it was short! ^_^**_


	46. Chapter 46

Black*Star woke up in the middle of the night, clutching at his chest as it heaved up and down. "Tsubaki!" he yelled out, hoping that it was all a dream. "Tsubaki!" he cried out, pounding his hands on the bed. "Damn it! Come back to your god!" he called out as tears streamed down his cheeks.

Black*Star started to sob as he realized he was alone. "Why Tsubaki." He managed to say through his sobs. "Damn…" he whispered. "I miss you… I'm so stupid." He said, a humorless chuckle escaping him as he sat up. "I loved you, we could have run away together, disappeared off the face of the earth." He whispered, his chuckle disappearing as he looked down at his hands, tears dripping off his chin and falling in his hands.

"Damn it!" he yelled out, grabbing his pillow and throwing it across the hospital bedroom. "Why!" he yelled out as he let himself fall back on the hospital bed, his hands going to cover his face as he let out a couple sobs.

'_Black*Star.'_ A voice whispered in the dark room.

"Who's there?" he exclaimed, quickly wiping away the tears, sitting up, glaring in the direction of the voice.

'_Black*Star._ _'_ the voice whispered, this time next to him.

Black*Star turned to look… and his heart stopped when before him was Tsubaki.

"Ts-tsubaki? Is that really you." he whispered, his hand reaching out to caress her cheek, but only to have it slip past her. His heart sank as he realized what was going on. "Oh god no." he groaned as he fell back in the bed. "You're a ghost aren't you?" he asked her as his hands went to cover his face once more, refusing to cry.

Tsubaki looked down at him, lightly shaking her head. "No… I'm a figment of your imagination Black*Star." She whispered.

Black*Star's heart broke… he now wished that she was a ghost , at the very least, he would know that it was her… but this is his brain playing games on him. "Go away." He hissed, salty tears starting to escape him as he fought to hold back sobs.

"But… Black*Star." Tsubaki mumbled.

"No! Get out!" he yelled, his bottom lip starting quiver as he turned to his side, his body starting to quiver.

"But… Black*Star." Tsubaki repeated.

"No! I can't live with this anymore!" Black*Star exclaimed. "I loved you Tsubaki!" he exclaimed.

Tsubaki stood there unmoving as she watched Black*Star. "I know." She told him, showing no emotion.

"I loved you… why did you leave me?" Black*Star yelled at her, his fists pounding on the bed.

"I loved you too." Tsubaki told him, no urgency in her voice.

"How would you know? You're a figment of my imagination!" Black*Star yelled out through ugly sobs.

"Because I told you before you killed me." Tsubaki mumbled.

Black*Star's entire body froze over as he stared up at the image of Tsubaki and to his disappointment, she started to flicker. "Tsubaki… You told me too late." He whimpered, his voice hoarse.

"I… Tsubaki loved you. I'm sure she told you for a reason." She muttered, her image starting to flicker.

Black*Star curled into himself, letting his head rest on his knees as he rocked back and forth. "I'm done." He hissed, his chest aching as his arm slowly transformed into his shot gun. "I don't want to be here anymore." He said through clenched teeth.

Tsubaki looked down at his weapon. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked.

"I'm positive." He growled, wiping away his tears with his other hand.

"Would Tsubaki agree with what you're about to do?" she asked him.

"I don't care." He responded as he sniffled.

"Do you really not care?" she asked him taking a step in his direction.

Black*Star stayed quiet as he shoved the barrel of the gun into his mouth, fresh tears escaping him against his will.

"Don't do it." Tsubaki mumbled. "Please."

Black*Star closed his eyes, his hand clenching into a fist as he started to count down.

Tsubaki wrapped her arms around him, although her warmth wasn't there… Black*Star could feel her there.

"Black*Star? What do you think you're doing!" Frank yelled out as he stormed into the room grabbing a hold of Black*Star's gun and slamming it down on the bed with one hand, while he pushed the nurses button that was on the wall with the other.

Immediately, a team of nurses swarmed the room, holding Black*Star down.

He kicked and thrashed as they ordered for him to be tied down. "End my misery! Please! I'm begging!" he called out. "Tsubaki!" he cried, but the image that he had of her was gone.

Frank watched sadly from the sidelines… Black*Star was begging… he must have fallen pretty deep in order for that to happen. "I'm sorry Black*Star, but the family needs you for the battle." He whispered as he slipped out of the room.


	47. Chapter 47

Soul brought his blade up to shield his body as Dagger attacked him. "Stay on guard Soul!" Dagger exclaimed as he kicked Soul's feet out from underneath him.

"We've been at this for days!" Soul groaned, annoyed, his muscles aching as he looked up at the blue sky.

"Something bad is going to happen, Soul. I have a feeling. You have to be prepared." Dagger told him as he offered his hand so that Soul could get up.

Soul grabbed a hold of it once his blade turned into an arm and Dagger pulled him up, only to twist it behind his back, his other arm going to choke him. "I keep telling you to be on guard." Dagger growled as he let Soul go after a few seconds.

Soul took in deep breaths, a growl emitting from him as he stood up straight, glaring in Daggers direction. "Could we take a break? I wanna go see Black*Star again." Soul mumbled as he stretched his aching muscles.

"Soul, neither Pops nor Jared could take us, Franks talking to them right now." Dagger told him.

"Does it look like I care? Black*Star needs me right now! The last time I saw him… he had this look in his eye… a look of… I can't explain it…" Soul whispered with a sigh.

Dagger sighed. "Fine, let's go." He said as he made his way back into the house, Soul following him closely.

They entered the house quietly, only to stop before they entered the living room, shock coursing through them as they silently took in the scene that was unfolding in front of them. "What's going on?" Soul whispered to Dagger who responded with a glare in his direction and a shush.

Jared was holding back Frank as Frank fought against him, threatening to attack Pops. "You idiot! What ever happened to family goes first?" he exclaimed.

"This is for the family." Pops responded calmly.

"Black*Star is family! We have to think of what's best for him! Not the battle!" Frank yelled out. "He's been through enough!"

"He has to do this Frank." Pops said.

"No! Sending him into battle! He has a death wish Pops! Don't make him do this!" Frank yelled out as he yanked out of Jared's hold. "Jared, you agree with me right?"

"I want what is best for Black*Star, but that doesn't mean attacking Pops is going to make him change his mind. The decision is done Frank… Black*Star is going to lead the Star clan into battle." Jared said.

"Hey." Soul called out, not wanting to hear any more.

Dagger glared at him. "You idiot! We need that information for Mr. Law." Dagger growled under his breath as the three men in front of them turned to face them.

"How long have you two been standing there?" Pops asked.

"Long enough. I want to go see Black*Star." Soul told them.

"Jared, take them to Black*Star, Frank and I need to finish our talk." Pops said calmly, his glare never leaving Frank.

Jared sighed as he turned over to Frank. "Promise me you won't kill him." Jared told him.

"I will make no such promise, he's threatening Black*Stars life here!" Frank growled.

"I think I know what the real problem here is." Pops said as he took a few steps toward Frank, his cane supporting his weight. "This really isn't about Black*Star is it Frank?"

Frank shot him a confused look. "What the hell are you trying to get at Pops?" he growled.

"This isn't about Black*Star, no, not really. This is about you Frank. You see yourself in him don't you?" Pops asked as he set his cane in front of him, using both hands to lean his weight on it.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Frank growled.

"Come of it Frank. I've seen the way you look at the boy. You told him about what really happened to your family haven't you?" Pops asked with a chuckle.

"Sh-shut up." Frank growled, his hands clenching into fists as he tried to contain himself.

"He lost his loved one too, and he reacted the same way you did… you see yourself in him, and you don't want him to die. You want him to react in a better way than you did in your past… You want him to survive." Pops said with a chuckle. "But you know that if he leads the Star Clan into battle… he'll end up even more scarred than he already is… maybe even dead because of his own recklessness." Pops told him, shaking his head. "You're an open book Frank."

"At least I care about his wellbeing. I want him to go ahead in life… but you just want him as one of your pawns… he's human Pops." Frank growled.

"He's my nephew, you think I don't care!" Pops yelled out. "I love him as if he were my son god damn it!"

"No you don't! You don't love him! You're using him, that's what you're doing!" Frank yelled out.

Jared sighed, shaking his head as he motioned for Soul and Dagger to follow him. "This is going to last a while you guys. We might as well get going." He sighed as he walked out the door, the boys trailing after him.

Soul paused, turning back to see Pops kicking Franks out from under him, causing him to fall to the ground. "You shall respect my decision." Pops spat at Frank.

Soul turned and hurried to catch up to Dagger and Jared who were already getting into Jared's new car. "Why do I have to go? I don't even know the guy that well." Dagger grumbled as he looked out the window of the passenger seat.

"Because you and Soul are supposed to be together at all times, it makes it easier on us." Jared explained as he sat in the driver's seat, turning on the car.

Soul got into the backseat of the car and watched the house go by as they left.

"Jared… is Black*Star really going to lead the Star Clan?" Soul asked him, his voice monotone.

Jared sighed. "Look, I don't agree with this, but we don't really have much of a choice… Pops is the head of the clan, he makes all the decisions. The only way for the decision to be thrown out the window is for the second, third and fourth in command to all disagree with it… I'm second in command, Frank is third, and we both disagree with this." Jared explained to him without taking his eyes off the road.

"Who's fourth?" Dagger asked out of curiosity.

"And why don't they agree?" Soul assumed.

"Carlo, Maka's weapon, is fourth in command. It's not that he doesn't agree… it's just that he doesn't know… this works in Pops favor." Jared said as his jaw clenched.

"Have you tried to contact him?" Soul asked him.

"That's just it, the only one that could communicate with the people in training… is Pops. You could see what the problem is now right?" Jared asked him.

Soul sighed. "So… what if Black*Star doesn't want to do it?" Dagger asked.

"That's another problem that we have… Black*Star is suicidal, he knows that the one that leads the Star clan to battle is practically sentenced to death… he agreed." Jared said sadly. "Soul… do us all a favor and try to talk him out of it." Jared pleaded.

Soul nodded, deep in thought as he looked out the window. "I'll find a way…" he trailed off.


End file.
